Cool News
2009 Academy Award Nominations Are In!!!
Harry here with the Oscar Noms...
Best actor:
Richard Jenkins - THE VISITOR
Frank Langella - FROST/NIXON
Sean Penn - MILK
Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler
This is an excellent selection. You should definitely seek out THE VISITOR, of the above nominated performances it is the most obscure for many of you, but in many ways the most subtly brilliant. I'm rooting for Mickey.
Best Actress
Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie - Changeling
Melissa Leo - Frozen River
Meryl Streep - Doubt
Kate Winslet - The Reader
Anne is great in RACHEL GETTING MARRIED, but frankly none of the performances above really struck me. This was a weak year for interesting roles for actresses. Writers - get your shit together, give these ladies better films, which goes doubly for Hollywood producers and studios!
Best Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin - Milk
Robert Downey Jr. - Tropic Thunder
Phillip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road
Heath should get this, but this is one of the toughest categories in terms of performances. But none touch that Joker performance. Besides - The Academy fucked up not nominating DARK KNIGHT over that tepid forgettable READER flick.
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams - Doubt
Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis - Doubt
Taraji P Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler
I hope to God that Marisa Tomei wins, her role in THE WRESTLER was the best work by an Actress in film this year.
Best Animated Feature Film
BOLT
KUNG FU PANDA
WALL-E
And the winner is WALL-E
Best Art Direction
Changeling - James J. Murakami, Gary Fettis
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Donald Graham Burt, Victor J. Zolfo
The Dark Knight - Nathan Crowley, Peter Lando
The Duchess - Michael Carlin, Rebecca Alleway
Revolutionary Road - Kristi Zea, Debra Schutt
I actually feel that BENJAMIN BUTTON should take this, the art direction was stunning.
Best Cinematography
Changeling - Tom Stern
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Claudio Miranda
The Dark Knight - Wally Pfister
The Reader - Chris Menges, Roger Deakins
Slumdog Millionaire - Anthony Dod Mantle
I again side with Benjamin Button here.
Best Costume Design
Australia - Catherine Martin
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Jacqueline West
The Duchess - Michael O'Connor
Milk - Danny Glicker
Revolutionary Road - Albert Wolsky
Bet this will go to THE DUCHESS, though the best costume of the year was everything on Heath in The Dark Knight.
Best Director
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - David Fincher
Frost/Nixon - Ron Howard
Milk - Gus Van Sant
The Reader - Stephen Daldry
Slumdog Millionaire - Danny Boyle
Slide Chris Nolan over Stephen Daldry's name and Dark Knight over The Reader and I'd be happy.
Best Feature Documentary
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon) - Ellen Kuras, Thavisouk Phrasavath
Encounters at the End of the World - Werner Herzog, Henry Kaiser
The Garden - Scott Hamilton Kennedy
Man on Wire - James Marsh, Simon Chinn
Trouble the Water - Tia Lessin, Carl Deal
I'm so happy with this line up. The best is MAN ON WIRE, but I have to say... I'd love to see Werner Herzog with a microphone to address the planet with.
Best Documentary Short Film
The Conscience of Nhem En - Steven Okazaki
The Final Inch - Irene Taylor Brodsky, Tom Grant
Smile Pinki - Megan Mylan
The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306 - Adam Pertofsky, Margaret Hyde
The Final Inch is not a film about my weight loss and lengthening penis.
Best Editing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall
The Dark Knight - Lee Smith
Frost/Nixon - Mike Hill, Dan Hanley
Milk - Elliot Graham
Slumdog Millionaire - Chris Dickens
This should go to Slumdog of the 5, simply great editing.
Best Foreign Language Film
The Baader Meinhof Complex - Germany
The Class - France
Departures - Japan
Austria - Revanche
Waltz with Bashir - Israel
I feel WALTZ WITH BASHIR should and will win this one.
Best Makeup
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Greg Cannom
The Dark Knight - John Caglione, Jr., Conor O'Sullivan
Hellboy II: The Golden Army - Mike Elizalde, Thom Floutz
Well... This is THE hardest category this year. The work in Benjamin Button is exquisite. Heath's Joker make-up was brilliant and iconic above any other work for the year. Hellboy 2 was the best creature make-up of the year. It'll be interesting to see where the Academy votes. I'm not even sure how I'd vote.
Best Music (Score)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Alexandre Desplat
Defiance - James Newton Howard
Milk - Danny Elfman
Slumdog Millionaire - A.R. Rahman
WALL-E - Thomas Newman
Hopefully they'll go with Slumdog here.
Best Original Song
WALL-E - "Down to Earth"
Slumdog Millionaire - "Jai Ho"
Slumdog Millionaire - "O Saya"
Hmmmm... so the biggest singing name on the Oscar stage this year is Peter Gabriel, then there's two truly great foreign language songs! Quality won out, but don't expect any of them to keep audiences at home in their seats sadly.
BEST PICTURE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
An absolute travesty. Of this group, I'd have to side with Slumdog or Benjamin Button
Best Animated Short Film
La Maison de Petits Cubes - Kunio Kato
Lavatory - Lovestory - Konstantin Bronzit
Oktapodi - Emud Mokhberi, Thierry Marchand
Presto - Doug Sweetland
This Way Up - Alan Smith, Adam Foulkes
PRESTO is my all time favorite Pixar short. I really hope it wins.
Best Live Action Short Film
Auf der Strecke (On the Line) - Reto Caffi
Manon on the Asphalt - Elizabeth Marre, Olivier Pont
New Boy - Steph Green, Tamara Anghie
The Pig - Tivi Magnusson, Dorte Høgh
Spielzeugland (Toyland) - Jochen Alexander Freydank
Haven't seen any of these yet.
Best Sound Editing
The Dark Knight - Richard King
Iron Man - Frank Eulner, Christopher Boyes
Slumdog Millionaire - Tom Sayers
WALL-E - Ben Burtt, Matthew Wood
Wanted - Wylie Stateman
Ben Burtt, go get your umpteenth Oscar
Best Sound Mixing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce, Mark Weingarten
The Dark Knight - 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
Ben, get your umpteenth +1 oscar
Best Visual Effects
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton, Craig Barron
The Dark Knight - Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber, Paul Franklin
Iron Man - John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick, Shane Mahan
I have to say... I go with BENJAMIN BUTTON here. The work that was done on Brad and Cate to age and to make them younger was nothing short of brilliant. Little old Benjamin is the most amazing effects job in the service to cinematic story telling that I've seen this year.
Best Adapted Screenplay
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Eric Roth, Robin Swicord
Doubt - John Patrick Shanley
Frost/Nixon - Peter Morgan
The Reader - David Hare
Slumdog Millionaire - Simon Beaufoy
I'd actually go with Peter Morgan and Frost/Nixon here.
Best Original Screenplay
Frozen River - Courtney Hunt
Happy-Go-Lucky - Mike Leigh
In Bruges - Martin McDonagh
Milk - Dustin Lance Black
WALL-E - Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Pete Docter
Here I'd like to see WALL-E to get it. Just great work here, the story telling and scene creation was brilliant. Andrew, Jim and Pete crafted something wholly original and stunning that managed to amuse and provoke rather deep thoughts all at the same time.
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+ Expand All
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The Dark Knight gets the shaft
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Bummer. Yaaay IN BRUGES script!
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You have got to be fucking kidding me.
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But even after Crash won the Best Picture Oscar I didn't expect the Academy to go that low and nominate Heath Ledger as the most popular dead celebrity of 2008.
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And The Reader instead of TDK? Hollywood must be trying to turn off the mainstream audience and decrease viewership.
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8 nominations, including art direction, editing and cinematography. and no picture or director nomination???
The Reader has come out of nowhere. Where was that on all the best of the year lists from the critics?
Awesome nod for Richard Jenkins in The Visitor - well deserved
6 for Wall-E - nice -
Slumdog should be a lock here. Yay for In Bruges and yay for Michael Shannon. Underwhelming choices abound.
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Wow, the Reader puled some major upsets
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Take a fucking bow.
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Come on! It's not that The Reader is a bad one, it's great, but it was MISSED from the entire awards season!!
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I'm more bugged about the Springsteen snub.
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...but not a great one. I applaud the nomination of Heath Ledger, but agree with the Academy that it wasn’t one of the five best of the year. Hell, I didn’t even think it was the best *superhero* movie of the year - IRON MAN was loads more fun, and less portentous.
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Jan 22, 2009 8:23:30 AM CST
And yaaay, finally a Make Up nom for the Hellboy crew!
by derlanghaarige
They got robbed for the first movie.
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no dark knight for director or best picture = academy insanity. haven't they gotten it through their pretentious skulls yet that the general public only give a shit about the oscars when a super smash hit is nominated in the major awards. if memory serves, the highest rated viewership in recent history was when titanic was nominated for everything.
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Ok role and acting.
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NO DARK KNIGHT FOR BEST PICTURE/DIRECTOR?!?! TRAVESTY! BUTTON GETS 12? BULLSHIT!!!
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Seriously?
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Okay, I only know Ben Button from the trailers, but Iron Man made me always wonder where the CG stopped and the practical effects started and TDK made even most viewers believe that Two Face was the only CGI effect in the whole movie!
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Especially Button for Best Picture. BEST PICTURE?!!?!?
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DOES HOLLYWOOD HAVE THEIR HEAD UP THEIR ASS!?!?!?! OMFG I'M SO PISSED!
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why the fuck wouldn't springsteen get nominated for best song. even without the visuals of the wrestler, that song is still fantastic. did we really need BOTH songs from slumdog millionaire? also, i didn't see happy-go-lucky but i thought it would've been really cool if sally whatsherface was nominated for best actress. and seriously academy, the reader? the motherfucking reader??!!
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suck on that Pitt cock!
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just visual effects, ...better than nothing i guess
, and Batman on best picture....well, dreaming was nice while it lasted -
Jan 22, 2009 8:27:33 AM CST
I Was Proven Right About TDK--No Best Pic Or Director Noms
by media messiah
Told you. Chris Nolan is hacktacular??? Dark Knight completely sucked!!!
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This makes no sense. NO SENSE.
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I loved TDK but am not bothered at all by it not getting a nod. It really was not that great but it was better than Milk and Button
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Rourke will win Best Actor. Pitt shouldn't be nominated. Colin Farrell should have been for In Bruges.Come to think of it, where the fuck are In Bruges' nominations? It was the best film of the year.The Reader? Fuck off! Kate Winslets statue chasing is starting to get on my fucking nerves. She should not have been nominated of for Rev Road. Michael Shannon as supporting actor? Yes, definitely. He was brilliant. But Kate Winslet can fuck right off.Where the fuck is Jason Butler Harner's nom for Changeling? The guy was awesome.As much as I like him, Downey Jr can fuck off as well. Tropic Thunder was okay, but his role was a fucking gimmick, not a character.Frost/Nixon? Fuck off! Langella maybe deserved a nom. Maybe. But the flick was average at best.These noms are pretty shit.
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All of it. No Dark Knight in Picture, Director or Adapted Screenplay, no peace.
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Forget TDK, but no Wall-E?? Come on...
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...slightly disappointing. Yes, I don't think that TDK was THAT good, but he directed the whole movie without a 2nd unit and managed to make many people believe that they are watching a groundbreaking masterpiece. If this isn't award worthy, I don't know what is.
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Need I say more?
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i walked out of revolutionary road thinking that michael shannon deserves an oscar for this performance (though it should really go to heath). apparently when i talk, the academy listens. i was also surprised at hellboy 2, which was a cool surprise. i haven't seen frozen river or the visitor, but its nice to see mellisa leo and richard jenkins get some much deserved love for their long career as unknown character actors. i've loved jenkins since flirting with disaster and he really showed he was a great actor on six feet under. also, best screenplay for wall-e!!!
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Great call by the Academy. Winslet not getting a Supporting Actress nomination for THE READER is the biggest surprise (other than THE READER being the dark horse BP nominee over DOUBT).
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I thought it was annoying. Undermining the great comedy moment where The Joker washes his hands with sanitizer by sticking it in the middle of Bruce trying to save Reese's life was one of the worst editing decisions ever. Nolan obviously can't do linear storytelling all that well. Ledger should be a sure-bet, if not, fuck 'em. Would like to see Sean Penn take actor. Everything else, I'm indifferent to.
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do you really think tiny stones like you people will change the overwhelming tide of praise for TDK? no one thinks you're "cool" for thinking that... only you guys. only you.
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it's kinda silly to judge art in the first place, right? Sure, TDK was in my top 5 but the whole "best" thing is kinda silly...so the Academy voters didn't like it as much as those 5 other movies...doesn't make it any less awesome.
Frost/Nixon, Benjamin Button, and Slumdog were all great movies...still need to see the other 2.
Nording: Good call on Springsteen...they only nominated 3 songs, they couldn't throw one more in there? -
Not that I think he was bad (I haven't seen it yet), but I always believed that the academy downright hated him.
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the rest of the acting nods I'm ok with, although, I'm surprised to see Eastwood didn't get much love this year, what with two films out.
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The Visitor: $9.4m total boxoffice
Frozen River: $2.3m
Frost/Nixon: $8.8m
The Reader: 7.9m
Rachel Getting Married: $10.7m
The Wrestler: $5.5m
The Dark Knight: $531 million
If that's not just bending and submitting to the arthouse circuit, I'm not sure what does. -
The Messiah called it again, well in advance!!!
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Just like Children Of Men, it's not as good you think it is. Just because it has long sequences of single-shot scenes, it doesn't make a good movie great. And just because Heath Ledger is dead, doesn't make a good movie like DK great.
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He didn't get nominated because the song wasn't eligible. The Academy refuses to change it's antiquated rules, so since Springsteen put "The Wrestler" on his new album, that disqualifies it from contention. The song must appear only on the film's soundtrack and cannot have been released in any other form. It really is silly. He wrote the song for the movie, at Rourke's request, then later added it to his album because he liked it. They're making the category irrelevant. Some interesting choices here. If you're going to nominate Downey for Tropic Thunder, though, where's the buzz for Russell Brand in Forgetting Sarah Marshall? "I was going to listen to that ... but then I just went on livin' my life." Genius.
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all "good" movies at best. all heralded as "best pictures" in film history. AND THEY CANT EVEN NOMINATE DARK KNIGHT FOR BEST SCORE, LET ALONE PICTURE, DIRECTOR, ADAPTED SCREENPLAY, ETC.
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Oh, and Hellboy II should've been nominated for audio cinematography, but specially for cosutmes...
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It's been 10 years since Harvey W. orchestrated the theft of the Oscar from the classic Saving Private Ryan for his whispy romance Shakespeare in Love. Now he is at it again with The Reader. Certainly not a bad film, but not a memorable one either. 10 years from now, people will look back and say "how did that happen?"
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I'm so excited right now!!!
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Jan 22, 2009 8:33:17 AM CST
So TDK was the best movie because it made the most money?
by derlanghaarige
Yeah, Transformers was SO robbed at the Oscars last year. (Which even is right, in terms of visual effects.)
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C'mon. This list was so predictable, it's pathetic. Daldry shouldn't even be on there. If the Academy was so scared of a super-hero movie, they should have at least given some director credit where it was due. The Curious Case of Forrest Gump is so over rated. BAH!
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Jan 22, 2009 8:33:59 AM CST
Congrats RDJ , and good luck your up against over rated hype
by jeanluc dickhard
RDJ deserves this ..... and clint got fucked over
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man, clint shoulda got something for that flick.
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I guess it goes to show that elitism is alive and well.By the way good luck with 2009 Academy Award show , because the Academy is going to need it. The ratings are going to dismal to say the least.
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His movie bombed. Cratered. 1941 made triple the boxoffice of The Visitor. Although we were spared Sally Jenkins in lead actress for a movie that made only $3.5 million in its run.
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WALL-E was amazing and it would have been nice to see it recognized, but now that they have the Animated category you will likely NEVER see an animated feature make it for BP
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for best costume design? That movie had some crazy and badass costumes if I ever saw any.
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that was a long shot anyway, but not even Best Original Screenplay??? I mean if anything it should have gotten that! Im glad at least songs from Slumdog got nominated this time, Globes nominated fucking Miley Cyrus for best song.
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WTF! That song is great.
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Robert Downey Jr returned big time with Iron Man and Tropic Thunder, Mickey Rourke made the most important movie of his whole career and I don't think I have to mention Heath Ledger.
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no, that's not necessarily why dark knight should've been nominated, but it certainly helped it's case.
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The Weinstein triumphs again... ugh. There are at least three other films (Wall-E, TDK, Wrestler) that more deserve to be there. I hope their base is really satisfied with itself.
No Springsteen = weird. At least now the very good Peter Gabriel track has a legitimate shot at winning.
Speaking of, Wall-E got 6, so at least there's that... -
All Dark Knight fans rejoice...a better film got the best picture nod and that's Benjamin Button. Soon, the best picture Oscar will be Button's...and David Fincher will have the best director award and you will all collectively say: "Damn that Media Messiah Mother Fucker, he was right again???!!! Fuck him, Rat Fink Mother Fucker!!!"
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Jan 22, 2009 8:39:29 AM CST
Oh well, WB is still laughing all the way to the bank
by shut the fuck up donny
I don't think the five best pic nominations' box office gross combined came even close to TDK.
Considering art is subjective anyway, I think the "uncultured" masses have already spoken.
Come Oscar Night, I'll watch the monologue, watch the In Memorium to pay my final respects (while observing the applause-o-meter popularity contest), and go to bed. -
Best actor: Mickey Rourke
Best Actress: Kate Winslet
Best Sup Actor: Heath Ledger
Best Sup Actress: Taraji P Henson
Best Animated Feature: WALL-E
Best Art Direction: The Dark Knight
Best Cinematography: Slumdog Millionaire
Best Costume Design: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Best Director: David Fincher.
Best Feature Doc: Man on Wire
Best Short Doc: The Witness
Best Editing: The Dark Knight
Best Foreign Film: Waltz with Bashir
Best Makeup: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Best Music (Score): WALL-E - Thomas Newman
Best Original Song: WALL-E - "Down to Earth"
BEST PICTURE: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Best Animated Short Film: Presto - Doug Sweetland
Best Live Action Short Film: Spielzeugland (Toyland) - Jochen Alexander Freydank
Best Sound Editing: WALL-E
Best Sound Mixing: WALL-E
Best Visual Effects: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Best Original Screenplay: WALL-E
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Oscars is Gheeeeeeyyyyy!!
But altleast SDM will clean up.As for Downey, have got the nod for Tony Stark instead of some dude in blackface. (Fucking Hollywood..)Benjamin Buttons was overrated, I would pick Defiance or even Gran Torino over this fluff piece.Can someone tell me why the screenplay for Juno won last year, yet TDK got overlooked for best screnplay?!? -
Jan 22, 2009 8:40:32 AM CST
Downey Jr did NOT deserve to be nominated
by i_am_not_the_droid_you_are_looking_for
No Farrell or Eastwood. Fuck that shit. Good on Jenkins though. I'll have to see The Visitor now. Benjamin Button was technically brilliant but failed to engage the audience. Pitt's physical performance to bring the old Button to life was very good, but his overall performance to create the character was not.
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What will be remembered 20 years from now?! The Dark Knight or.....The Reader? The Visitor? Rachel Getting Married? Milk? Frozen River?
Exactly. -
One of the worst films of 2008 because it was so flat when there was such great room to do much more with the film...instead hyped colored people's glasses with the color of roses.
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totals equal the FIRST FUCKING WEEKEND of The Dark Knight.
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Watched it last week in a packed theater & it just did not connect. Most of the time I can dig this type of movie but not this time. It was way too long = long films do not bother me but movies that make themselves lllooonnnggg to appear Epic just annoy. I also love me some Fincher and he had some nice touches through out but that does not make it best picture. Out of that limited list I would lean toward Slumdog. Side note: both movies where packed with people & the impressions I got on the way out = Slumdog - people moved happy/enjoyed film / Buttons = Bored and not happy audience. My girl even fell asleep in Buttons & she never does that in a movie = my real gauge for how a film went ;).
I would go with Wall-E, Knight, or even Doubt as some favs in my own 2 cent list. -
do you think she'll make Mendes strap it on and fuck her with it? I've never seen anybody lust for one like her.
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was good, but i agree with some of the other tbers, it was a gimmick, a fucking funny gimmick, but it didn't really require great acting. it was a slot better deserved for james franco for milk or dev patel for slumdog.
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(not my personal picks, but this is who'll win... easy money)
Actor, Sean Penn - MILK
Actress, Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
Sup. Actor, Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Sup. Actress, Amy Adams - Doubt
Best Animated - WALL-E
Best Art Dir., The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Donald Graham Burt, Victor J. Zolfo
Best Cinematography, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Claudio Miranda
Best Costumes, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Jacqueline West
Best Director, Slumdog Millionaire - Danny Boyle
Best Doc, Man on Wire - James Marsh, Simon Chinn
Best Doc Short, The Final Inch - Irene Taylor Brodsky, Tom Grant
Best Editing, The Dark Knight - Lee Smith
Best Foreign, Waltz with Bashir - Israel
Best Makeup, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Greg Cannom
Best Music, WALL-E - Thomas Newman
Best Song, WALL-E - "Down to Earth"
Best Animated Short, Oktapodi - Emud Mokhberi, Thierry Marchanrd
Best Live Short, Spielzeugland (Toyland) - Jochen Alexander Freydank
Best Sound Edit, WALL-E - Ben Burtt, Matthew Wood
Best Sound Mix, WALL-E - Tom Myers, Michael Semanick, Ben Burtt
Best Visual Effects, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton, Craig Barron
Best Adapted Screen, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Eric Roth, Robin Swicord
Best Original Screen, WALL-E - Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Pete Docter
BEST PICTURE, Slumdog Millionaire
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I'm sure they could have found other worthy nominees in these categories. Why not a nod to Hellboy II for visual FX? Almost all the other categories have five nominees. I don't understand the reasoning.
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makes sense though. would have liked wall-e to get a best picture nom, but theres been so many good films this year. Re: dark knight, im more annoyed that it didnt get a scare nom, but somehow managed to get 2 other sound based noms.... the music is as much a part of the effects work in that film as anything else.
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... is the funniest thing I've read in a while. Nice work, sir. ... As for The Reader, it's a movie about the Holocaust. OF COURSE Hollywood is going to nominate it. You could make a holocaust porno flick and the Academy would nominate it.
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It's the only film nominated that could be considered timeless, the rest of the pics are merely of the moment. What an uninteresting list of nominees.
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That sucks- Plus no Acting nominations for SlumDog Millionaire- doesn't help its cause
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I love the Indian people, but Hollywood is major in need of financial investment due to the economic crash, and they want, and need, Bollywood and the Indian people watching the Oscars en mass...and with it, they are hoping to win favor and more investments by Indian Billionaires in Hollywood productions and studios like Dream Works, by giving Slum Dogs those nominations...and despite my love for Benjamin Button...the Hollywood elite are crooked enough to fix this thing so Slum Dog wins best picture over Benjamin Button just so they can get that cash!!!
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and it was my favourite of last year, but Im not shocked it's gotten shafted-its just not the academys kind of film. And it is true that despite how excellent he was as Mr.J if Heath were still alive, he wouldnt have gotten the nod...Im not trying to undermine him in anyway, cos that performance deserves every praise it gets. The one really tragic Batman snub didnt happen this year though folks-it was when Shirley Walkers Mask Of The Phantasm score didnt get a nod in '93...truly one of the best soundtracks ever made and its just dismissed by most people as cartoon music
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She was nominated for BEST ACTRESS for The Reader. How can you be complaining she wasn't nominated for Best Supporting for that movie?
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I jumped straight to "Best Supporting Actor" to make sure Heath Ledger is there like he should be.And to be honest, don't care much any of the others. Except for any that Dark Knight is up for. Send a message to Hollywood execs that comics book films can be artistic serious FILMS not kid's stuff silly ass fluff
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The Night of Broken Ass
Cock-centration Camp
Gooish Jewish: Cum Swallowers of Poland
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...is it SO difficult for Germany to send a movie to the Academy that is NOT about the history of this country? At least The Baader Meinhof Complex isn't about Nazis.
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Angelina Jolie? Fuck no.
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Doesn't matter how good they are or how much angst there is. And, anyway, if THE DARK KNIGHT didn't have Batman in it and was just a thriller about a cop, it would seem rather ordinary. It's a great movie because of the funny book element...but no one can take a guy with his own Underoos line seriously. But having said that, I DO have Batman bed sheets.
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Stop fakin' the funk. You know you loved Benjamin Button. You laughed, you cried, you cheered, you loved the movie!!! Buttons, buttons, buttons!!!
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Look at the choices for Best Original Picture. It's been that way for as long as I can remember. But here we go again with another batch of mediocre, safe and boring choices from The Academy. At least half of the "Best Picure" choices are barely above Liftime Movie Channel quality. Let The Right One In has been THE gold standard for what film should be in 2008. It showcased superior cinematography, screenplay, musical score, direction and acting (from the two leads). As far as I'm concerned, the Acadamy's "choices" for what they consider "Best Picture" seem like a limp handjob from a syphilitic 90 year old 3 dollar whore in comparison.
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I beg to differ. Melissa Leo is fantastic.
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after all the hubbub about the score for DK..nothing...that's a shame
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Imagine there's two people in love, but one of them's becoming a baby. Oh no. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to take away from that. The Dark Knight got robbed, and that sucks. It's better than Button and Frost Nixon, for sure. I haven't seen the other nominees yet, but I will.
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I'm not surprised it didn't make the cut, not real sure on whether its deserving.. I thought it was, but what do I know. Either way, this year's awards have generated zero interest and I won't be watching. This looks like any given year at the Oscars with a bunch of overrated movies that may be well done, but seem to get there because of their supposed avant garde subject matter over true innovation.
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Button's cinematography/looks is bad, it needed the 16:9, not the 2.35...Pitt's acting is bad, reminds me of Bale's Batman with the voice...the movie is just not interesting...but I love Zodiac and Se7en, so it's really the movie...
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You're a complete fuckwit.
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Jan 22, 2009 8:55:06 AM CST
Did Wall-E break the record for most noms for an animated film?
by the shyster
Anybody?
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Longer than needed...bad pacing...
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Crash...No Country...now Slumdog for this year. Nothing against those films, but theyre NOT classics.
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Dark Knight, Wall-E, The Wrestler, Milk, and the last one's a toss up between Revolutionary Road and Benjamin Button. Those were the best told stories of 2008 (haven't seen let the right one in so please don't shit on me for not including it in this list).
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Don't you mean "Gump2:Still Gumpin"?
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No kidding on TDK's score. Certainly the most innovative and appropriate music in any film I've ever seen. So much for being different. It's the same ole' same ole' for the Academy this year... how boring.
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Saying The Visitor "bombed" is hilarious. Was it released in over 3,000 theaters? Was there a massive push for it? No. It's a low-budget, independent film that, shock, people who ACTUALLY SEE IT seem to like. You child.
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Jan 22, 2009 8:57:00 AM CST
Best film of 2008 was In Bruges
by i_am_not_the_droid_you_are_looking_for
And Colin Farrell was robbed.
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But No Country for Old Men and The Departed are GREAT films...and let's not get into the 'classic' category, because Toy Story is classic, and it didn't win Best Picture...
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Dark Knight rules and Button was mediocre at best. NERD RAGE!!!!!!!
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look at the best original screenplay noms. There's your best picture.
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no, box office doesn't = quality, if that were the case then the fucking grinch would've gotten a best picture nom. BUT, it does help make a good case for an already amazing movie where the general consensus of critics and moviegoers agree on it's sheer awesomeness.
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Jan 22, 2009 9:00:48 AM CST
Boy, if they thought last years Awards had low ratings...
by mr. nice gaius
...wait till they get a load of this year. What a snoozefest of films. (Although, I'm sure there will be a spike in the ratings when the Best Supporting Actor category goes down.)The most important thing to remember here is that the best film of the year, bar none, is/was MAN ON WIRE. Everthing else? Fiction.
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Seeing that your rant against the foreign Film press because they shunned DK could have been construed as nationalistic tripe on your part.....
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About 12 people???
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Bloody typos.
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to make it a best pic contender. Sad but true.
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Thanks for seeing through my stupid fuckup. I meant to put "Screenplay" and never did. I'm glad you figured out what I was trying to say.
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Infernal Affairs destroys it.
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Not having THE DARK KNIGHT in the major awards running will kill viewership. Especially with Wolverine hosting.
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...and die in their own shit.XD
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Jan 22, 2009 9:05:10 AM CST
Oh come on, all the Heath Ledger Fangirls will watch it!
by derlanghaarige
And there are lots of it! (Or just a handful who have invaded every single website on the planet.)
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it was a fantastically made movie, but the best documentary released theatrically in 2008 was "Taxi To the Dark Side" which won best doc last year. after that, in no particular order, would be man on wire, religulous, standard operating procedure, shine a light, and (even though most critics didn't respond well to it) where in the world is osama bin laden?
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He knows his shit. :)
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Most overhyped movie imaginable. Kung Fu Panda was better in all respects.
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Receiving a BP nod over 'The Dark Knight' is a joke, and what makes matters worse is Christopher Nolan being snubbed by Stephen Daldry.
No Clint, No Kate (for the far superior Rev Road), No Springsteen, or The Fall. And no 'Rock Me Sexy Jesus!?!'
Well, I actually liked 'Crash' so this is like Christmas; you can't get everything you want every year.
Boycott the telecast!!!! -
This will be the lowest rated ever, if not, pretty darn close... TDK would have gotten millions of geeks, and curious casual viewers, watching... No one really gives a flip about Frost/Nixon vs. Slumdog.
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Best films I've seen this year are 'Let The Right One In' and 'Hunger' but there's a snowball's chance of either of those getting a nod.... And where the fuck is Eastwood for Gran Torino? I know it's a bit of a flawed movie but he was fantastic in it!
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I'm way more surprised TDK didn't get a nod for the score than anything else. How the fuck can that score not be nominated? It's a fucking masterpiece.
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Would it really have been so hard to nominate Dark Knight for best picture or have a little recognition for Nolan?
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films of the year, the year it came out, with a lot of support for Alvin Sargeant's screenplay. And just like then a "comic book" movie has a chance in hell in getting a best picture nom. Gone are the days when popular (Star Wars, Close Encounters) and popular fluff (Airport, The Posidein Adventure) were nominated.As far as The Reader...I guess Ricky Gervais' advice to Kate Winslet was right. Do a holocaust movie, and the awards will follow.
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i dont give a fuck if its against some arbitrarily moronic rule, its a travesty the wrestler wasn't nominated for best song. the fact that springsteen is playing the superbowl would increase interest in him playing the song at the oscars, but now we have to listen to TWO bollywood songs. nothing against bollywood, but one is definitely enough. also, springsteen would bring his legion of fans to watching the oscars for his performance and his definite win, if he were only nominated, of course.
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Jan 22, 2009 9:11:52 AM CST
The Reader - 58 Metacritic score; The Wrestler - 81 MC score
by dirkbelig
Way to go Harvey!!! Way to go Academy!!!
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Because that will probably happen.
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Jan 22, 2009 9:12:27 AM CST
they forgot a little movie called Snow Angels! Stupid Assholes!
by what the duck
Great movie with great performances. It should have at least been nominated for the acting. On another note ddid anybody really believe TDK was gonna snag a best picture nomination?
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also fuck watching this boring telecast.
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nominated, I'm not shocked about TDK's score not making the ctu.
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Weeee woopdee fucking shit! But still I hope Mickey gets the oscar just for bragging rights and because he deserves every single award he can get for this role. The Wrestler was better than all those nominated films...it took something as silly as pro wrestling and turned it into a heart wrenching tradgedy. Whatever, it won best picture in my little dream world...along with Let The Right One In, The Dark Knight, Rachel Getting Married and Tropic Thunder!
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I'd like to see it happen, but it ain't going to happen. He's going to get the Bill Murray runner-up award.
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Thank you Bollywood for funding Hollywood during the economic downturn.
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didn't get nominated, but the Forrest Gump remake did. Interesting.
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What's even scarier is if you bother to check the tomato meters for the films nominated. Best films of the year getting 70% fresh? WTF? Benjamin Button 73%, The Reader 60%, Meanwhile Wrestler got 98% and Dark Knight got 94%.
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She'll finally win and do important films like a remake of Wes Craven's Shocker and the lead in some Michael Bay action movie.
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Jan 22, 2009 9:20:52 AM CST
Who the fuck cares when AVATAR is fucking our eyeballs in 2009?
by motoko kusanagi
Fucking academy. THE mediocre READER??? What the fuck? WALL*E for best script??? Christopher Nolan not nominated? Plenty of BENJAMIN borefest BUTTON love???I fucking hope that Ledger gets his golden boy. Plus, IN BRUGES rocked!
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Can we stop with those already? Its like an automatic win whenever your killing jews in your movie.
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conspiracy theory. TWO B-wood songs in Original Song and no Bruce? WTF?
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I stand corrected = love me some Buttons now! You Win! ;) HA!
Is it Friday yet? = need some BSG ASAP -
He's okay at delivering a weak script and some terrible dialogue. Should have let someone else direct that film and just stick to the acting and playing the song.
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Its a lock. Rourke for The Wrestler, the comeback win. Winslet for The Reader, the multi-nominated-no-win win. Ledger for the career interrupted win. Henson for the supporting minority win. And Slumdog Millionaire for director (which Boyle shoould have got for Trainspotting) and picture for the little film that could that had more substance the Little Miss Littlefilm.
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Is it just me that thinks the dark knight would have benefitted from cutting by at least 1/2 an hour. Sorry but nominations just because you're dead suck shit
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Uhhhh.....they do know that Two-Face was 90% CG, right? I'm righting a letter right now to get it disqualified.
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Uhhhh.....they do know that Two-Face was 90% CG, right? I'm righting a letter right now to get it disqualified.
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...who still don't know what "editing" is about. It's not the montage within a scene, you morons! It's how the movie as a whole is visually told. TDK should win that category. Great editing.
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I totally agree. He had to demean himself in crap like I am Sam in order to look serious (which is funny because I thought it was the most unintentionally funny performance ever) so when Mystic River came out, he could win. Rourke hasn't really been good in years, and they're just going to skip over him for this reason. I think it's stupid, it's the best performance of the year, not best career or whatever.
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What a cunt of a movie. What a cunt of a lead actor. Sho nuff.
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Anus, Penis, Anus, Oh Yeah!
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So how come 'The Wrestler' isn't in the best original song category? I mean, obviously it's because it wasn't voted for but come on...Peter Gabriel? That song was terrible. Jai Ho was great and I hope it takes it.
Sorry but I'm not feeling the love for Benjamin Button at all. It was OK but essentially was a completely forgettable 'me too' Oscar film. The film cut it's own logic in half at the end! (He started as a little baby who looked 80, so logically he should end as an 80 year old who looks 1 hour old, right? I felt short changed!)
Also, Ease up the the Dark Knight love. It isn't half as good as you remember it being. -
Jan 22, 2009 9:28:23 AM CST
it's the best performance of the year, not best career or whatev
by skimn
Because Al Pacino deserved an Oscar for his HOO HAA?? Of course, the performance plays just a portion of the award.
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Electric Fistaloo.
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In a world where Titanic, Gladiator and LOTR: Return of the King have all won best picture awards, the Dark Knight isn't even nominated? Milk, Frost/Nixon and Reader and no Dark Knight? Dark Knight was clearly the most entertaining movie of the year, with great acting performances turned in by ALL, excellent direction from Chris Nolan and an epic screenplay. If Heath Ledger hadn't died they probably would have left him out too.
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...I've realized how bloated and ultimately unimportant the Oscars are. The Globes and the Oscars this year are both pretty staid with a few bright spots. I'll tune in to see Ledger become only the second actor to receive a posthumous Oscar after Finch. That's about it.
It's not that I don't support a number of these fine films. It's that the Academy Awards continue to be out of touch with quite a bit of excellent cinema. I think I'm finally done with awards shows. And the Oscars were one of my favorite things growing up. Oh well, on to more important things. -
The Academy proves just how out-of-touch it is when it comes to nominations. "The Dark Knight" snub is a travesty, but not surprising. I'm equally displeased that "Gran Torino" and Clint Eastwood were ignored. It's a fairly simple movie but he delivers an amazing performance. Nice job Academy! And TV viewership continues to spiral downward...fewer people watch because fewer people care. When you slight a film like "The Dark Knight" you deserve your fate.
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1. Did anyone else find MUCH of the acting and dialog in Torino to be so bad that it pulled them RIGHT OUT of the movie? Not talking about Clint here.____________________
2. Can You explain to me Brad Pitt's nod? Sure he acted in different ages, but as far as emotional performance - the guy was just kinda walking around, watching shit happen, talkin about it. Maybe thats the fault of the script (which also makes me question the nods for best screenplay and picture)
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...for not nominating the Dark Knight.
Best Actor-Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
Best Actress-Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married)
Best Supporting Actor-Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
Best Supporting Actress-Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler)
Best Animated Feature Film (Kung Fu Panda)
Best Art Direction (The Dark Knight) Nathan Crowley, Peter Lando
Best Picture (The Dark Knight) Fuck the Academy on that one. -
Viewership will not plummet due to lack of The Dark Knight being nominated. Most of these films that were nominated have made money this year. This is also the first year where most of the people I know have seen the majority of the nominated films. The viewership will either stabilize to last years or improve a bit. The Dark Knight wasn't going to save the Academy. It's a great movie that should have been nominated, but it wasn't. The hate should be directed at The Reader. Not at films like Slumdog or Button. Kate was better in Revolutionary Road, and even in that movie Leo out acted her. This whole movement behind The Reader by the Academy is a surprise to me.
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I expected a best actor nom for Cruise. Because he not just played a historical character, but he was also wearing an eyepatch!
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Sally Hawkins was robbed. She gave the best female performance of the year in Happy-Go-Lucky, won a Golden Globe, and got shafted here. Good job AMPAS.
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It's Oscar worthy. Maybe they should make film versions of it so they can get those Oscars after all!!!
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was the lack of a Wall-E best director nom. It was only a completely incredbile movie that had no talking for about an hour, I guess that takes no skill at all. It's a much better skill to be able to point a camera at Sean Penn's sad little one-dimensional gay impression
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Jan 22, 2009 9:35:40 AM CST
I'm a Fincher fan...but BUTTON doesn't deserve BEST PICTURE.
by jdanielp
I haven't seen all the BEST PICTURE nominees, yet. Maybe David Fincher's BUTTON deserves to be in THAT specific group. However, I do feel that Nolan's THE DARK KNIGHT was a superior flick to Fincher's. Many thanks to Chris Nolan. And here's to my hope...that he introduces Superman in the next Dark Knight installment, even while maintaining his life-like style. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed...for Nolan to prove that even Superman can transcend the genre.
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Honestly why does anyone care about the Ego, vanity awards known as the oscars. It isn't about the best films of the year and honoring a years work in cinema. Only types of movies are even considered and they have to be studio films or at least owned by one.
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Rent The Dark Knight instead on PPV, DVD or Blu-Ray.
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I'd really like Langella to take the Oscar. I truly enjoyed his performance in that movie and think the guy deserves some recognition.However, if he lost out to Rourke, I wouldn't be unhappy at all.
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Both on your point about Wall E and on Sean Penn's overrated performance.
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I really enjoyed Ben Button, but I think Leo or Colin should have been nominated over Pitt. Great to see In Bruges got a screenplay nod, though. Best screenplay I've seen in a while!!
I can't believe Springsteen didn't get nominated. If you would have asked me for a sure thing, his nomination would be at the top of the list. And he won the Golden Globe!!!
Good to see Michael Shannon in there for Rev Road.
The Dark Knight should own the technical categories.
Stephen Daldry for direction over Christopher Nolan??? WTF?? All the Reader is is 2 people in a bedroom banging each other and talking!!! This is a great example that the Oscars are political snobby BS. Good job Weinstein!!! -
And nominating two songs from Slumdog Millionaire means the votes will be spilt and the award will go to Wall*E. Danny Elfman's "The Little Things" from Wanted deserved props. And -- trivia alert! -- this is the first year since *1992* to feature an un-nominated John Williams score.
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...you could have told us to eat vagina...and die in vagina, instead??? A much more pleasant way to go. You know you love Benjamin Button too, see...I know you. See, you're smiling now. I saw that! Your grin!!!I have a confession to make, just like you, I cried during the movie, Benjamin Button, also. It's okay to admit it, we're still strong men...and best of all, the ladies will be impressed by our sensative sides. Just ask Mavra Chang...she'll tell you.
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The only one of these major nominees in wide release is Benjamin Button (and it's not exactly setting the world on fire); everything else is still in only playing in selected theaters in NY and LA. Good luck in getting anybody to tune in.
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I'm sorry for the misspelling, but a tear was in my eye as I was just crying watching a bootleg of Benjamin Button. I'm still chocked-up!!! Please excuse me, I have to go cry some more!!!!
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If they can't get some TV award love give them some movie award love ;) Get me the academy on the line or they will feel the wraith of the 13th colony.
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to run during the telecast, I wonder if there will be a teaser for Avatar? THAT would get the geeks to watch.
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I'm too choked up to spell choked. Haha!!!
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Just because a film made more money than another doesn't make it better (just like winning an Oscar doesn't). Pirates 2 is the third biggest film of all time worldwide, should that have won Best Picture? I agree that The Dark Knight should have been nominated for Best Picture but not because it made so much money, but because it was a genuinely fantastic film.And saying that Richard Jenkins doesn't deserve an nomination because his movie "bombed"? For such a small indie film it made a tidy profit and to completely denounce his performance because it didn't do blockbuster figures? Fuck off. That's one of the most ignorant, childish and retarded things I've read on here and - as you seem to be on these boards every day - you know how ignorant, childish and retarded these comments can get.
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It'd be nice if Rourke won.
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Don't the Jews still run Hollywood?
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Even IMDB was faster!!
I'm not too thrilled by a lot of it.
I haven't watched Slumdog yet, but the universal cock sucking is getting a bit old now.
Never mind the noms, what do folk think Jackman will bring to it as host?
Will he do Oklahoma dressed as Wolverine?
Will he apologise for Van Helsing?
Hopefully he's gone to Billy Crystal for tips and not Letterman. -
Jerry Lewis is finally getting an Oscar this year(albeit for humanitarian efforts). All other snubs this year are instantly forgiven.
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Kate Winslett's lips :P.This is more like a Cumming of age film, than your average historical Nazi Docudrama.It com every teenage male's fantasy..to get busy with a Milf.The Movie is just ok,but it should have NEVER gotten the nod over TDK.Paul Verhooven's BlackBook runs circles over this shit.
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SHE WUZ ROBBED!
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It's a good but forgettable, and often predictable film with prestige talent. This is more of a nod to Pollack and Minghella than to the film itself.
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She also needs to start doing movies like Doomsday and stop licking the Dick of Oscar.
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One of the worst films I've seen in quite a while. Pitt for best actor in BB?? What the hell? He was FAR better in "Burn After Reading" He actually had to ACT in that film. (A far superior film to BB by the way). No TDK for best pic? Odd indeed. The Oscars are a joke, I never watch them.
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The guy has been a beloved character actor for years, and he got a chance to shine in a main role. Kinda like David Strathaim in Good Night And Good Luck. So give him his time in the sun. Rourke will still be the sentimental favorite to win.
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Sorry folks, but I refuse to watch the Oscars' broadcast or lend any credence whatsoever to the legitimacy of the nominated films. Granted, you can no doubt make a case for why each film nominated should win the actual award. However, there is NO REASON why TDK shouldn't have at least been nominated to categories such as 'Best Picture,' 'Best Screenplay' or 'Best Director.'
In short, The Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences is an arrogant, self serving group of elitist hypocrites and they can all kiss my ass for their continuous attempts to cram their snobbish cinematic tastes, among other opinions and beliefs, down my frakin' throat. -
Once again, the Oscars proves its own irrelevancy. Once again this is the same academy that opted not to honor Citizen Kane, Casablanca, Double Indemnity, Star Wars, or Pulp Fiction with Best Picture, in most cases in favor of films that have been long-since forgotten. Now granted I've never seen The Reader, but I'm pretty fuckin' sure it's not going to stand the test of time like Dark Knight will. The Academy consistently makes the same mistake, picking the flavors of the months instead of those films that will stand the test of time, will become classics, and will be taught in film classes. Kudos for the unexpected Downey Jr. nomination though. He deserved something for his awesome performances in 3 films this year. He's a dude playing a dude pretending to be another dude.
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My understanding is that Sweden submitted a different movie for the Foreign Language category, but it wasn't selected for the final nominees. Anyone know what that movie was or why they would make that decision? Let the Right One In was definitely one of the year's best, foreign or domestic, and it's a tragedy that it doesn't have a chance to win.
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I would pay front row seats to see that happen.Just to jeer and laugh at Jack(off)man as he sings; "I got a beautiful feeling..."
What a douche and yes he should apologize for Van Hellsing and Swordfish too.Hugh Hackman indeed. -
don't place much value on The Oscar (tm) anyway.
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The editor would've had to excise that entire dueling boats with bombs on them sequence.
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And then they'll act shocked when no one watches this
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this awards show gets more irrelevant every year. by the way idiots. billions of viewers? it's not the champions league final. hell it's not even a barca - real madrid match or even a man u - liverpool match. Fucking cunts.
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figures.
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should have been up for Production Design.
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...the Oscar folks are a different crowd.
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Hugh Jackman for his role as "heterosexual man".
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This, to me, is insane.
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as co-cinematographers for The Reader? That'll be hard to beat. Very glad to see In Bruges get a screenplay nod.
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Pitts actual performance (aside from the physical aspects of the motion capture) was shit. Seriously, he has fuck all actual dialogue, it's all voice over. And the dialogue he does have he delivers like he's Karl Childers dimwit cousin.The special effects made his performance look much better than it was. If they're going to do that, then they should've nominated Andy Serkis for Gollum.
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than The Dark Knight.
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My balls?
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Shakespeare in Love, Annie Hall and The English Patient in the "what the living fuck were we thinking?" Hall of Reverse Fame.
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wow, everyone was really thinking TDK could pull of the win and then they just shut the doors?? LAME. Button is OVERRATED and boring. I'd rather watch Gump 3x over before going thru Button again. I wish I aged backwards cause Button was LONG / slow and ultimately pretty boring. Slumdog for the rest. Pretty lame, Heath will win, and it'll get all the death, blah about it Nolan got robbed.
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better than any movie really?
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"Go ahead,kiss my ass".
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You may not like it. I don't like it all that much. But Titanic is a Grade A piece of filmmaking. I don't like it...but I can admire it.
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It was the best male performance of the year but the academy will go with Mr Rourke.
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Fantastic movie. Fuck the haters.
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for a movie so inarguably loved by everyone and still untopped this year as far as being compelling and emotional. No other movie made me think as much or feel as much during or after the movie. Slumdog was great Button was better, but Dark Knight changed filmaking..... I gotta a question for the film buffs here. What actually makes a good movie?
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...I watched it as a fan of the book, and apart from Kate (who gives an amazing performance) the film is very average and bearing in mind the subject matter(s) dull, and I cannot quite believe how they managed that. I mean a film where an older woman seduces an under age boy who turns out to be a Nazi...it should have been powerful, dramatic, intense and gripping it is none of these things. TDK is a great film, not perfect, but better than other billion dollar grossers The Return of the King and of course the woeful Titanic (even the effects now are underwhelming).
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While my personal taste leans toward TDK being a better all around film than Titanic (no sense in arguing why--we'd go in circles forever). However, the fact that both overall critical reception and public opinion (rarely do this things match) were overwhelmingly positive for the TDK (similar to Titanic--at least in the public's embrace of the movie). That this fact alone did not warrant at least a best picture nomination is surprising to me.
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....was a chore to watch. As already stated it was nothing more than an updated version of Forrest Gump. They both have a handicap
They both are southerners
They both never had a relationship with their fathers
They both had understanding mothers who years later lose their mothers
The both had brushes with history
They both went off to sea and war (They did opposite in both films but you get it)
Forrest Gump had the feather, Benjamin Button had the Hummingbird
They both loved a woman who wouldn't pay them any mind, and the woman finally did and had their child.
The scene early on where the preacher told Benjamin to get up and walk out of the wheel chair and falls on his face was similar to when Forrest tries to walk in the doctors office and falls. If Hollywood honors this, then why aren't they honoring all the shitty remakes that they have been puking out the last few years? What a fucking joke. Oh yeah, Bruce was fucking ROBBED for The Wrestler. -
He's really winning for Masters of the Universe.
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The Reader is a VERY mediocre movie, The Dark Knight got shafted (not even a fucking screenplay nod?), Revolutionary Road got nothing... this had the potential to be one of the most exciting Oscar years... now I don't know if I'll even watch.
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Another TB destined to be focused on TDK, in which the level-headed feel it’s their responsibility to inform the starry-eyed fanatics that the movie was not remotely good enough to be considered among the best pictures even when you figure in how entirely mediocre this year was for film. Great. Count me pleased with TDK exclusion, but count me out of the gloating.
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Seriously, why even tune it? To see The Reader, a movie that I'll likely never see except on late night cable, win? As Homer Simpson would say, "Booooo-riiing!" These nominees and Jackman prancing around on-stage doing musical theater will make this Must Not See TV.
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First and foremost the Academy would still view TDK as a comic book/action movie, and they are notoriously snobbish about those genres. Titanic was undoubtedly helped by being a) a historical movie and b) an old-school Hollywood melodrama sepctacular.
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it won when nominated against LA Confidential. Titanic is a great piece of filmmaking but featured two actors who were not ready for the material. I think Winslet and DiCaprio are two of the best actors in major films.... NOW. At the time they were almost there... The story was predictable and didn't allow anyone like BIlly Zane or even Kathy Bates to really shine in any regard. Meanwhile LA Confidential which is also a period movie, featuring incredible set pieces, direction at least 4 interweaving subplots and gives every single actor and actress something interesting to do, loses. If we're giving awards just for the craftsmanship of making a film then I understand the Titanic win, but if we're talking about the art as well then LA Confidential is clearly the better film by far.
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TDK was NOT universally loved. I, for one, am over-fucking-whelmed with relief that Dark Knight did not get nominated. Because it's nowhere near the Best Picture. Neither is Button, which is a pointless yawnfest, but Button doesn't engender the foaming fanboyism that TDK does. Which seriously needed to be swatted on the nose.
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from the Producers Guild AND the Directors Guild, but got snubbed by the academy by The Reader is proof enough. Asshats. Sure, you can debate if TDK is Oscar worthy, but I'll bet you find it on more top ten lists, hell top five lists, than The Reader.
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They heavily petitioned Oscar voters over the past few weeks with DVD screeners and "gift baskets" to sway voters towards The Reader ahead of The Dark Knight. The fucked up thing is that it worked.....
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I completely agree. Confidential was the ebst film of '97.
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Because the screenplay was not good.
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Jan 22, 2009 10:20:26 AM CST
"Not having THE DARK KNIGHT in the major awards running will kil
by mr incredible
Harry, get real. Your worship for this movie is clouding your judgment. People around the world will watch this back-slapping shitfest, no matter what. TDK made Warner Bros. a billion bucks plus, and you're crying about it not getting more nominations? Please.
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is overrated and NOT best pic material. I feel that Nolan should be nominated for director though. The Springsteen snub is unforgivable and Iron Man AND Dark Knight should get costume design...Gran Torino looked like a fucking joke from the trailer, is that movie actually good? Like I literally thought it was not a real movie...Dark Knight score should also be nominated but NOT screenplay. And Ben Button was great so suck it haters! GO HEATH!
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Boogie Nights and Jackie Brown were bother better than LA Confidential. I watched LA again recently and was shocked by how great Kevin Spacey used to be, and how over the top Crowe was. Russel Crowe's Bud is a cartoon character who would've fit in better with De Palma's Black Dahlia.
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FUCK OSCARS...YEAH...FUCK YOU....RIGHT IN THE ASSS...FUCK YOU OSCARS, FOR NOT GIVING THE BATMAN A CHANCE.....YEAH...FUCK YOU OSCARS....FOR NOMINATING EVERYONE IN THE FILM_OF slumdog millionare--EXCEPT IT'S ACTORS.....FUCK YOU OSCARS...FOR PASSING ON THE BOSS FOR A BEST SONG NOMINTATION, BUT INSTEAD YOU NOMINATE M.I.A. WHOSE MUSIC IS SHIT.....FUCK YOU OSCARS....FOR NOMINATING FILMS NO ONE HAS EVERY HEARD OF.....OR WILL SEE!.....FUCK YOU OSCARS.....FOR PLACING ROBERT DOWNEY JR AND HEATH LEDGER IN THE SAME CATERGORY....ITS LIKE A SLAP IN THE FACE....FUCK YOU OSCARS....FOR NOMINATING THE READER WHICH REMINDED ME HORRIBLY OF ATONMENT.....I HAD NIGHTMARE'S FOR DAYS AFTER I SAW ATONMENT...SO FUCK YOU OSCARS...FOR PASSING ON LEO ONCE AGAIN....IT COULD OF BEEN HIS YEAR...IF YOU ONLY GAVE HIM...AAAAAAAAAAAA.....CHANCE....SO FUCK YOU OSCARS.....ME AND ALOT OF YOUR VIEWERSHIP WILL NEVER WATCH YOU LAME ASSES AGAIN....SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO......FFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK.............YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU........AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACADEMYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!
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Didn't Horner also win over Goldsmith for score? For shame, considering Horner steals his best ideas from Goldsmith.
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And that's a damn shame about the Academy. Maybe in 15 years when the fossil-like academy members are no longer around, the remaining voters will start looking at genre movies in a new way. It's almost a moot point this year anyway; TDK would not have beaten the all the other competing films.
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Even if it's a fucking masterpiece the same thing'll happen to Watchmen next year... sayin that I didn't enjoy TDK at all...
Besides how many times has the true best film of the year actually won best Picture? Like last year I thought 'There Will Be Blood' was a far superior piece of cinema to 'No Country' and I hope time will prove that. -
Tbh i've had little to no interrest in the oscars for a very very long time. It just seems to be a way for hollywood to give a nod to films that were so crap or pretentious that next to nobody seen them. Every year the big blockbusters get shafted because of what they are and the fact that they have already raked in the cash just so some rubbish that nobody wants to see can add a sticker to its dvd cover.
The oscars have become so predictable anyway, films are made and released solely for the purpose of awards and they generally get them. They appeal to a select group of people who are so snooty to begin with and generally go against what the rest of the cinema going public thinks just for the sake of keeping their circle of nutters intact and exclusive.
Maybe in a few decades the current crop of people in charge will have lost the keys and a group of people that are more in line with what everyone else thinks will hand out the awards. Until then, the predictable rubbish will continue to reign supreme. -
Star Trek II, Aliens, and Willow, all of which he does over and over again in every film other film he's done. Goldsmith should've won for LA Confidential, but then again, he should've won for Chinatown too!
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The Rocketeer!
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How Speed Racer couldn't at least be nominated for best visual effects is beyond me...
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It's too late to stop the two postings I already did, but you've made me re-think things. I guess a large part of me WANTS to gloat that TDK was not nominated. But that would be silly. As much as I think TDK fanatics are willfully blind to its faults, it IS a pretty good movie and one of the better comic book efforts. There's nothing to be gained from me rubbing salt in the wound.
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have been nominated for more categories. Having actually seen most of these films I think Wall-E, Slumdog, Button, TDK, and Doubt should have been the nominees for best picture... if you want to swap Doubt for Revolutionary Road I'd buy that. Coming in and eschewing rancid bile because TDK was not nominated while offering no reasoned alternative or even a film on the list nominated that was actually better means your opinion is completely invalid. You're not cool because you didn't like the Billion Dollar Batman Phenom. You're not cool because those of us who think it should be nominated didn't get our wish. In fact the majority of the people in this talkback probably haven't even seen 45% of the films on that list. If you thought TDK was only a good film and not a great film do me a favor please tell us what this year you thought was better. Then its actually you know a discussion instead of ... HEHE TDK wasn't nom'd toolz!!!!... Find something to add to the conversation.
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The MTV movie awards - yeah, that'll show'em!
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You TDK people are better off that it didnt get the nom anyways, because it wouldnt have won. Then youd REALLY be furious. This is, and has been, a two-horse race since September. Slumdog vs. Ben Button. Obviously a slow year for nominatable films. My favs of the year: Wall*E, Let The Right One In, In Bruges, & Slumdog. I found [REC] & Clovie more fun than I did TDK, but I still thought TDK was a great movie. Bottomline: Who cares what the AMAMAMAAPS think? I dont.
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Am I allowed to post in this thread?I am only a heterosexual and not as knowledgeable about lavish Hollywood parties and designer dresses as everyone else here, but I did want to say it is a great insult to all the Batman-loving children in the world that this fine film about a man fighting crime dressed like an animal did not get more recognition this year. Surely, it is time to consider a category for Best Children's Film? That way, The Dark Knight need not miss out on an award.I hope that's okay.
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How out of touch with the rest of world are they? What planet do they live on? You can not tell me these are best films of the year. You absolutely CAN'T! The Reader over The Dark Knight!? No Wall E BP nom? Gran Torino shut out? Who even saw the Reader!? It grossed about $524 million dollars less than the Dark Knight. After this travesty who will even watch the Oscars now? I sure won't. Expect it's lowest ratings in history. The Academy is officially irrelevant.
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Gotta have a Holocaust-themed film in there somewhere at the Oscars, for obvious reasons.
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If it doesn't win it's golden baldy there's no justice.
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This year, for example: Doubt earns FOUR acting nominations, one for every major performance in the film, but they don't consider it one of the best pictures of the year? That seems weird to me. The Dark Knight earns eight nods, seven that would suggest it was one of the most well-made films of the year, but they don't consider it a best picture or best director nominee? On the other hand, The Reader only earns one acting nod, and yet it's up for best picture and best director. Slumdog gets all these nominations, but no one thought highly enough of the acting to nominate someone? And there's a good chance that Marisa Tomei and Mickey Rourke could walk away with Oscars, and yet The Wrestler is otherwise virtually ignored. I'm not lobbying for any of these flicks, but the whole system seems out of whack.
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Why is it cool to hate on this movie all of a sudden? It's not crap like Juno, Little Miss Sunshine, Shakespeare in Love, or Crash. Slumdog Millionaire is a movie I went to see with no expectations and I wound up enjoying it very much. And I don't like Danny Boyle. But he got a lot right here. The look is authentic and realistic, the score, the young actors, the story. It was all a good experience to watch. The movie also took a much ignored part of (the world that is slowly becoming a force in the global marketplace) and shows us their struggle without being preachy. And they even wrapped a relatable love story around it. It basically has everything an Academy voter could want in a film. People need to stop being ridiculous cynics and direct their hate somewhere else. It's foolish. Also while The Dark Knight is a superb film, it leaves you cold after viewing it.
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It's an overlong greater-than-life Forrest-Gumpesqe fake biopic with nothing on its side except the gimmick of Brad Pitt getting from old to young. You just go through this to see how he dies. Fincher being nominated by this and NOT by Fight Club - clearly a better movie - is a JOKE. Also, I'd give TDK the special effects Oscars over Button ANY time. The amount of practical effects and amazing shots should be recognized, and not that creepy old meat-puppet with Brad Pitt's motion capture movements. Also, WALL-E should get original soundtrack. No questions about Peter Gabriel and Ben Burtt getting the awards here as well, so I'd give WALL-E 5 awards here. Best picture will be given to Slumdog Millionare due to the Golden Globe media hype.
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Let The Right One In is absolutely one of this year's best films. Unfortunately, with the rules of the Academy and the Foreign Language Film award it would never have a chance to make the list. Should it be in the best picture discussion absolutely but so should In Bruges.
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and she would get nominated for trophies. Some people are just automatic noms.
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Milk at least was a good movie, if not a great one. I didn't think he had enough trial and tribulation on screen, and too much of it was off screen in his voice overs. I also thought Dan White's character should have been delved into a bit more, for instance, what was the point of saying he was gay or an alcoholic, but only really referring to it in no more than a single scene? As for Benjamin Button, the first two thirds were ok, but by the end it was just totally absurd. It also didn't really follow the rules it set for itself. I mean, I know no one in their right mind would ever show a baby the size of a man, but if he came out the size of a baby, he should have left the size of a man. I also got tired of the lightening guy after the fourth or fifth time.
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for best picture (if not win). Ledger is an easy win for supporting actor.
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Best film of the year by FAR.
Slumdog Millionaire was absolute shit. I'm sorry but why am I going to pay $10 to see an extended version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire when I can see that shit on Game Show Network for free?
And out of all the game shows in the history of broadcasting, why did the filmmakers have to center their film around Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Couldn’t they have picked a better game show? I mean there are like 100 cooler game shows they could’ve based their film on. Here are just three game shows the filmmakers could’ve used for inspiration that would’ve made the movie a lot better. (I hope you’re taking notes, Boyle.)
Hollywood Slumdog Squares. While thinking up an answer to Who was the 17th President, Paul Lynde has a flashback to his Thug Life childhood when he and his homeboy Vincent Price popped caps in people and fought over the affections of Rose Marie.
Win, Lose, or Draw: The Movie. Celebrities’ drawings come to life in whimsical and magical ways. Then suddenly, Dom DeLuise’s doodling of Godzilla comes to life and eats Rip Taylor. Burt Reynolds laughs hysterically.
Match Game Millionaire. Flashbacks reveal just how dumb Dumb Dora really was. Then, after years of lustful innuendo, Richard Dawson and Gene Rayburn finally get horny enough to double stuff Fannie Flagg while Charles Nelson Reilly tells everyone where to put their ________.
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Academy Awards, you are dead to me.
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The whole system IS out of whack. When have they ever gotten it truly right? Think about it; how many times have you heard "That wont get nominated because noone has seen it or knows about it.". How is that an excuse? Isnt that the JOB of these people, supposedly? To get out there and see as much as possible as to truly identify and reward the best of the best? No, for the most part, the judges/voters are HANDED what they are TOLD are the best films/perfomances of the year... Ah well, thus is life.
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Movies I would have wanted to see nominated:
Best Foreign Language Film - Let the Right One In
Best Picture - THE DARK KNIGHT!!!
Fucking Bastards.
Best Director - Chris Nolan
What the fuck is The Reader anyway? I've never heard a thing about it. The only reason why they didn't chose The Dark Knight was probably cause its a superhero movie based on a comic book.. Dickheads. I'm not watching the Oscars. -
bleh...what a weak year. the Oscars are going to have another ratings disaster on their hands. perhaps a good host and Ledger's nomination will interest viewers...but I'm not holding my breath.
The Oscars have been criticized in recent years for nominating films that no one has seen. As a cinemaholic, I don't want to see pedestrian films nominated, however nominating a wildly popular, critically acclaimed film like "The Dark Knight" for Best Picture, Best Director, etc. would have drawn non-traditional viewers. -
Jan 22, 2009 10:44:42 AM CST
Franklin T Marmoset--I understand the point you're making, but..
by brantleyfoster
While we're talking about children's films, how about the film about a guy that's born old who ages backwards? If we wanted films to only be a total, plausible reflection of reality, we could all save a lot of money and just go sit at a bus stop for two hours. To say that nothing of cinematic value (based upon your highly developed sarcasm)can be gleaned from fantasy might put off a lot of filmakers, authors, painters, etc. I do, however, applaud your willingness to draw the ire of the vast majority of people on this site. What an original concept.
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you fucked up like titanic/not nominating the dark knight cause you thought your awards would be in a panic/how pathetic!/no acting nods for slumdog millionar/india wont even watch/so who cares/kate got nominated for the reader/even though reveloutinary road was a far better picture/you nominate richard jenkins but forget to give props to the eastwood legend/josh brolin snuck in and stole another nomination from that emily hirsch and james franco kids/you left chris nolan out in the wind again!/hes the next stanley kubrick so he dont need your awards anyway/give it to ron howard or danny boyle/cause the both of them are a little spoiled/you give props to isreal with waltz with bashir but forget let the right one in, what a mess/dont even ask me why im stressed/Robert Downey jr got a nomination for tropic thunder/is this a joke, maybe i'll have to take a plunda/TDK got no musical score nomination, yet youll nominate defiance, which aint even in the same constolation/IronMAN got best visual effects over speed racer/it'll probably win to cause stan winston is the creator/in brudges got a shout out for orginal screenplay/but the nolan brothers got played/
Dam i'm only being real...every dam oscar show i watch...i see the same old hoes..yeah.yeah.. -
Absolutely standard editing. Nothing special about it. Thats a sympathy nom if I've ever seen one.
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Sometimes a film can feature better performances than the film itself. Doubt is one of those movies where the actors all bring their A game, yet the direction is lacking. The Wrestler features a pair of great performances from Rourke and Tomei, but the end of the film leaves you cold. Revolutionary Road is another case of great acting from both Leo and Kate, but the film itself underdelivers as a whole. Slumdog Millionaire is a great film, but it's not due to acting. It's the story and the direction. The main thing that bugs me is when directors are nominated for best director and their films don't get nominated for best picture. To me those two go hand in hand but the Academy voters don't think so.
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I totally agree with you and it's sad that Sweden didnt at least TRY to get that film nominated. Some political crap Ive read.
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I used to watch the Oscars every year when I was younger, even if it meant staying up wayyyy too late on a school nite.
But you know what, about 10 years ago I missed one..and the world didn't end. Sure I caught the news the next day to find out who won. And that was enough for me.
I just grew up I guess. -
We have Wall-E on DVD and so far we've only watched it once more. But we've watched Presto a good 10 times at least now. Just the best Pixar short yet.
Re-watched TDK again too. Heath was fine right up until the end..the incessant laughing reminded me of getting tired of Jack's incessant laughing back in '89. The torch has been passed, indeed. I hope he wins, though, so we can all get on with our lives and forget about it. -
My friend and I were probably the only 2 hysterically laughing at each ridiculous death. It was so much old school fun. Can't wait for The Expendables.
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Winslet jokingly said a few years ago that the sure fire way to get nominated is to do a movie about the Holocaust. Which is true. Every damn movie, brilliant or terrible has received a nomination based purely on the subject matter.
Now, although the picture gets nominated, she does not. Well, they sure showed her, didn't they?! Idiots. The bottom line is, you can never be reminded enough of the atrocities of Nazi Germany. ut enough with the automatic nominations, even if it is deserving! There are other stories to be told! I almost feel as if a few categories should be created based on the sheer volume. "Best Animated Picture", "Best Picture", "Best Holocaust Themed Picture" "Best Supporting Actor/Actress in a Holocaust Movie", "Best Title Attempt of a Holocaust Movie to Keep You Coming Back for More"
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They go down each year and have been for some time. Has nothing to do with the nominations. Has to do with the quality of the show. Get over it people. Just because certain movies haven't been nominated doesn't mean jack.
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Dark Knight
Gran Torino
Wall-E
Slumdog Millionaire
Milk
Benjamin Button
Fuck the pandering holocaust film like The Reader, and Ron Howard is still overrated.
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Watch the ratings for this broadcast sink to new depths.
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When the #2 box office film of all time fails to land a Best Picture nomination, you've just about guaranteed yourself a low viewer turnout. Hell, if it wasn't for Heath Ledger, WALL-E and Peter Gabriel, I wouldn't be watching either.
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overall the oscars seem to be improving and actually acknowledging deserving films. Last year was excellent i put it down to academy members' demographics actually changing. At this moment i'm rooting for Slumdog.
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Even more irony! I misspoke. Winslet WAS nominated for The Reader! Hysterical! She's a lock! Especially since her main competition is Streep as a Catholic nun...though, since Streep is playing a "witch hunt" Catholic...this could get interesting!
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She DID get nominated. And it's not like she said that in a press conference - it was written for her when she was playing herself in Extras. Which is why I'd get a kick out of her winning just to give that episode the perfect punchline. Not to mention the fact that, while the film itself wasn't fantastic (it was interesting but lacked dramatic impact and felt longer than it was), she gave a very strong performance.
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Don't give ABC the satisfaction of your presence. That's all you do. At this rate, I'm hoping for a Sopranos-like ending when it comes to announcing best picture. :)
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Just saw your next post...
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It's only fair, right!!!
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That's what matters. Will Brandon Routh host next year?
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As is the movie itself. Eastwood did a great job but he's getting more attention for Gran Torino. I'd rather see Jolie win than Hathaway who only played a piece of trash junkie who ruins a wedding.
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Bullshit. It's bad enough they snubbed a terrific movie for best pic and best director, but they couldn't even give the soundtrack some much deserved lip service? On this day, the Academy takes one more giant step towards irrelevance. Benjamin Button was light hearted fluff--nothing more. How the hell does it get nominated for anything other than a few technical awards?
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Your riff on the MTV Awards and TDK is a classic!!! Brilliant work!!!
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Reader got in because it is about the Holocaust. Ricky Gervais had it right at the GG. You make an above average movie about the holocaust and white academy voters eat that shit up. Frost/Nixon was meh and I'm a history fanatic (b.a. in history), but it's about a so called real historic event, ironically to most historians a non-event, so it gets in. MILK is about GAY people so that's automatically in Hollywood, but I haven't seen it so I guess I can't be too judgemental. All i can say is TDK and WALL-E should be in this category.
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I just needed to get that off my chest Acadamy. If you can hear me. If this message gets into your brain somehow. That I wrote on an Aintitcool message board and wished for your narrow minded long winded death.
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Join me!
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And give out best actor award.
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Clearly, the children would like to see their film about a colourful crime fighter rewarded with an Oscar of some sort. Listen to your audience, various Academy members!I think the Oscar for Best Children's Film is the way to go for The Dark Knight. I suggest they make the statue slightly smaller than the grown-up Oscar, and with something covering its swimsuit area, because exposed genitals on awards is not appropriate for kids.
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class dismissed.
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Checkout Defiance in which the Jews actually kick Kraut ass.Now that's a good Nazi Movie as opossed to the Reader.
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Jan 22, 2009 11:03:42 AM CST
Colin Watkinson fucked over for cinematography on THE FALL!!!
by prague23
Who didn't suck who's dick so that this film was completely overlooked? I know the script was kinda weak but the cinematography was STUNNING!
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Clint was great, the story was excellent, but MAN the supporting cast were chock full of shitty fucking actors.
Every time I hear that asian actress say "Hill people! booga booga booga!", or here the priest say "We're not IN korea" I wanna gouge my fucking ears out. That ranks up there with J-Lo's "Gobble Gobble" line in my book.
Could Clint not find decent actors? -
Jan 22, 2009 11:04:30 AM CST
Let's just get one thing clear: The Reader is not a good movie
by mefrog
Not really. It's poorly paced, the relationship between Winslet and the boy is borderline ridiculous, and the ending drags. Winslet is good (not as good as she was in Revolutionary Road) and Ralph Finnes is strong but I was shifting in my seat wildly by the first hour mark. It really is true: make a Holocaust movie, get a nomination. Fuck you, Academy.
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Fair enough, but can't you predict some of this stuff every year? You just KNEW that Mickey Rourke was going to get nominated but the film wouldn't, despite the fact that it received far better reviews than The Reader, as far as I know. Last year, you KNEW Juno would win for screenplay because the voters love the movie, but not enough to give it best picture (not that I thought it deserved it) and they wanted it to win SOMETHING. No one really knows how the process is broken down, but inconsistencies abound on how they choose nominees and winners from each category. I haven't seen Doubt, but I refuse to believe that it makes sense that the Academy could consider every major performance in the film among the best of the year, but not consider it one of the best films of the year. If just Streep was nominated, I could buy that argument ...
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Did you really just say that?
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will get a nod for Star Trek next year?
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accept this fact...you know it to be true
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As long as it has a concentration camp scene.
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The acceptance speech. If Sean Penn wins, he'll go off on a speech about rights and Prop 8 and yadda yadda yadda. If Rourke wins, he will give us an awesome funny speech like the Globes. Plus Penn went full gay, no one wins an Oscar for going full gay.
I was surprised by no Gran Torino and no Sally Hawkins.
And we all know that the Mumbai terrorist attacks was just a marketing ploy for "Slumdog Millionare" -
I found his performance in the role of 'Joey Tribbiani, but Irish' to be deeply affecting. Where's his nomination?This is typical of the Academy's prejudice against actors playing their parts as though they were characters from Friends but with different nationalities!It's nothing but elitism!
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the Academy sees the irony in nominating Downey for a movie that makes fun of the types of movies the Academy seems to always get a hardon for when he is surrounded by all the types of movies the Academy gets a hardon for?
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Jan 22, 2009 11:09:24 AM CST
get real....this will not affect ratings.......
by dannyglovers_dickblood
People forget the rest of the general public doesn't bitch and whine like all these man-children on here. People who saw and liked TDK can give a fuck if its nominated for anything. Most people probably didn't even know it was being hyped up for Best Picture. Ordinary folk wouldn't necessarily associate TDK with the Oscars. No one will care.
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I think the highest recent Oscar ratings were for when two popular movies one (Titanic and LOTR:The Return of the King).
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No one gives a flying fuck about Oscar nomination politics. Besides, everybody knows that the Oscars are like the Superbowl for dudes who enjoy fornicating with other dudes.
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I'll go ahead and answer that. THE DARK KNIGHT should have been nominated (I have to believe it was seriously considered) because it was a great film that was critically acclaimed and immensely successful with the public. After films like TITANIC and THE LORD OF THE RINGS (ROTK), there really shouldn't be any quibble by the Academy over whether or not a popular superhero movie is worthy of a Best Picture nod.
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Jan 22, 2009 11:13:29 AM CST
Most Academy members would have fallen asleep during TDK
by kwisatzhaderach
Blame Bale's insomnia-inducing performance.
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Not that I expected any different but it's still sad that Synecdoche NY didn't get any nominations. Best film of the year and some wonderful performances as well.
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The Academy needs to start nominating movies people actually have seen and/or heard of. Also, it would be awesome if they told us how close a vote was or if somebody won by a landslide. That would great. It will never happen, but it would have me watching. However, after hearing these horrible and uninteresting nominees, I will be no where near this telecast. Oh, and I know I am alone here, but it is a slow acting year if Mickey Rourke wins. He was good, but not great.
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Jan 22, 2009 11:14:22 AM CST
If The Dark Knight took place during the Holocaust, it would win
by jordo
I feel totally blue-balled.
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2000: Gladiator -- 2001: A Beautiful Mind -- 2002: Chicago -- 2003: LOTR:Return of the King -- 2004: Million Dollar Baby -- 2005: Crash -- 2006: The Departed -- 2007: No Country for Old Men......Agree....Disagree
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We should have thrown the jew down the well. Death Weinstein wins again.
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Exactly. People will tune in to see post-hum Heath win his award. Look at how many fools went and saw Mamma Mia and probably consider THAT to be the best of the year. Most of the general public are very disconnected from what goes on here and in these talkbacks. And no, geeks, I did not compare the quality of Mamma & TDK, just their money making = public love aspect.
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This guy was robbed of a nomination. I enjoyed Pitt's performance but DiCaprio's performance was definitely better. Congrats to Michael Shannon though who was mesmerizing in Rev Road!
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I loved "The Departed" in 2006 and thought it should win. Two years later..."Children of Men" was clearly the best pic that year.
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Jan 22, 2009 11:19:50 AM CST
TDK SHOULD have taken place during the Holocaust
by franklin t marmoset
Christopher Nolan's Batman would have made a GREAT Nazi, and we could all have clapped and cheered as anti-fascist loose cannon The Joker punched his uptight face and saved the day.Oscars by the boatload, surely.
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this is an infomercial...always has been..they need to sell these movies to make a profit...that is why noms go to movies that arent big money makers...
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That would make sense if the ratings for this idiocy wasn't going further down the toilet every year.
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Fuck you, Academy, for ignoring Dark Knight in Best Director, Best Picture and Best Score categories. I'm not saying it has to win every category but the the film deserved those nominations. Nominating Ledger is great in one sense, but the lack of other noms for the film seems as if Ledger's nom is more for sympathy.
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Imagine what they could do to Milk and The Reader.
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Hugh Jackman is the host...people keep forgetting that. Billy Crystal, David Letterman, Steve Martin, Chris Rock, Jon Stewart, HUGH FUCKING JACKMAN???? I like Hugh. I'm going to watch Wolverine. I think he's a nice guy. I know he did broadway. But him hosting the oscars is like T.I. hosting the BAFTAs. You lost the young viewership by taking off Dark Knight Acadamy. But its all good you sure got the Holocost surviver viewership and the Bollywood crowd. Should make up for it. I'm so glad the acadamy hasn't stopped Catering to arthouse repetitious films like period pieces and Nazi films. Thank god they respect the hard work and huge dividend earning pictures like Dark Knight. Wait...thats sarcasm Acadamy voters. I keep forgetting that your blowhardedness and obtuse thinking prevents you from knowing when someone isn't really blowing sunshine up your puckered ass.
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Now there's an Oscar Winner!
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regardless of who is nomd and wins the oscar, the films made will speak for themselves in time...good or bad. Oscars are irrelevant to which films you like and which are actually, in fact, worthy.
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Jan 22, 2009 11:25:48 AM CST
Bale will accept Heath's award using his "scary" Batman voice
by tylerdurden3395
You know you want to see that.
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I'll stick to what was nominated in those years mentioned, otherwise this will go on forever:
2000 - Agree; Gladiator
2001 - Disagree; Fellowship
2002 - Disagree; Gangs of NY AND Two Towers were better than Chicago.
2003 - Agree; ROTK
2004 - Disagree; The Aviator
2005 - Agree; Crash
2006 - Agree; The Departed
2007 - I both agree & disagree since I liked both No Country & There Will Be Blood, so I had no problem with No Country winning. As far as "film" goes though...Blood was superior and probably SHOULDVE won.
Of course those years, like this year, just because it was nominated doesnt mean it was the best that year. I just dont feel like going back and researching what was when, so Im taking the lazy way out for now.
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I saw Doubt. It's totally obvious that it was the directors first film. It was shot funny at times. But the actors brought it home. And I was actually a bit worried about Rourke being nommed. People hate on him despite the fact that he delivered the best male performance of 2008. I'm glad he was nominated.
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Is it too new to qualify for this year's Oscars? Did it not qualify for some other reason? Was it just not good enough? It surely can't be because it's a TV piece, since all the others were too.
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How exactly would academy members be put to sleep by "Bale's insomnia-inducing performance"?
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Good to see Peter Gabriel got a nom for that WALL E song... and on the subject of people not tuning in because of the obscure noms I think it's a fair point. People are surely more interested in the fate of movies that they've actually seen (and everyone saw TDK)... still I think Jackman will help make the show watchable and there are a few juicy categories to get excited about.
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I have to admit that I don't understand the Academy's apparent love for The Reader. The best word that I can use to describe it is "inconsequential." Kate Winslet's character in particular says very little throughout the film and apparently does not engage in much introspection. We never truly learn why keeping her one secret is so important to her that she would risk going to jail for decades over it. Moreover, it is not clear what we are to make of Fiennes's thought process throughout the movie. Ultimately, it's a breezy film which suggests that it is more meaningful than it truly is.
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This list of nominees is a complete travesty. Your job is to SELECT THE BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN THE ART OF FILM MAKING, that's it. And you have proved to us all that that is a task to hard to comprehend for you. Frost/Nixon??? The Reader??? Benjamin Button?? Where the hell is Wall-E and The Dark Knight?? Just because they were a commercial success does not mean they were not best picture contenders. Stick your head out of your asses and look around.
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Unless it's had a release in the LA county area between 1st January 2008 and 31st December 2008 it is inelligible for an oscar.
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Must explain Jackman hosting.
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I can't understand why, based on box office draw, Dark Knight should be nominated... It was fun and pretty and sort of fresh...but compared to Synecdoche, NY it is a footnote in cinematic history. DK is way uneven, and frankly, Ledger's performance is the most noteworthy aspect and I am glad that the academy reflected truth in that sense. While being smart enough to see Dark Knight clearly, missing the boat on Synecdoche, NY is inexcusable. I have seen all the movies in contention except for The Reader because the premise is soo boring I wouldn't drop a dime on it. Considering this reality: Benjamin Button - Best Film, Rourke - Actor, Melissa Leo - Actress, Shannon - Supporting actor, Cruz - supporting actress, Fincher - Director, Button and Happy-Go-Lucky for scripts. Oh, and to those of your knocing THE DEPARTED...you are so right. That movie was barely coherent and frankly paled in comparison to Goodfellas or Casino. Scorsese in the 21st centuries sucks ballz.
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Yep, there goes all hope that they were legit.
No offense to ass kissing liberal hollywood pricks, but this goes to show just how fucking gay for each other that community is. -
Jan 22, 2009 11:32:36 AM CST
if you're gonna complain, complain about the omission of No Beni
by six demon bag
he owned this year
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see above
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To promote Wolverine. Bobcat Goldthwait was the one too busy.
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Ghost of Marcus Brody... I notice INDIANA JONES & THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL is NOWHERE to be seen in the noms. You need to rattle your chain and spook up those academy voters abit more.
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Thiis maan. Deserved this awaard. For all the haard woork. He puut into the chaaracter.
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that's because it wasn't very good.
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At least the dozens that watch this turdpile of an awards show won't hear any music from High School Musical 3.
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which is none. That movie was pretentious and ridiculous and horribly acted. What's so awards worthy about a story of a crotchety, racist war vet (because all war vets are crotchety and racist and completely socially inept according to Hollywood) learning to love people and not judge them for the color of their skin? And I never did understand how we were supposed to see Eastwood as "old fashioned" because he didn't like his granddaughter showing up to his wifes funeral in a mid drift and texting during the service. I think anyone above the age of 7 would share his hostility to that behavior. Stupid movie.
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The noms, overall, suck. MT and MR from "The Wrestler," and the rest blah. Pitt over Eastwood? For a make-up role? The day Pitt wins an Oscar is the day they need to shut it all down. I'll look for the results on Yahoo the next morning.
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...remember that the largest voting block is the actors. They usually gravitate to "actors" films. It's a shame as they used to nominate movies that were great but popcorn flicks. Hell, didn't Jaws get a nomination? It wouldn't now. And I agree that LA Confidential should have taken best picture over Titanis, but at least it wasn't as bad as that Shakespeare in Love over Saving Private Ryan mess. And Richard Jenkins totally deserves his nomination, but I'm confused. Someone is going to put his performance down because 1941 made more money than The Visitor? 1941? Jeez, of all the movies you could pull out of your ass, you come up with 1941. Which was not a very good movie and does not hold up very well. I'd have understood saying Gran Torino made more, but 1941? Have you seen a movie BESIDES TDK in the last 30 years?
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Don't care how this comes across, but that song from Twilight should have made the final list. Or a couple of Forgetting Sarah Marshall songs (Inside of You and Dracula's Lament).
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Looking at the Special Effects category - Harry, i'm really surprised you'd side with BENJAMIN BUTTON over TDK. You're always one to extol the virtue of practical effects and stuntwork over CGI and TDK featured that aplenty. I must confess I haven't actually seen BUTTON yet but are its FX really more worthy than TDK's?
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...as it should, as well as The Love Guru. I contend that the Razzie awards would be more entertaining to watch than the Oscars.
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The Academy has failed to nominate as Best Picture the film that mattered the most in 2008. THE DARK KNIGHT was not only the year's most highly profitable movie and one of the very best reviewed, it will be remembered as the most influential. What other film generated more discussion, more fervor than this one? Studios are already scrambling with their next batch of films to meet its ceiling-shattering standards. THE DARK KNIGHT is the movie that made history in 2008. All else paled in comparison.
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Give him a lifetime pass to host the Tonys. Give Hollywood the willies and let Gary Busey host the Oscars.
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2000 Gladiator (disagree) - Memento2001 A Beautiful Mind (disagree) - The Fellowship of the Ring2002 Chicago (disagree) - City of God2003 The Return of the King (disagree) - Oldboy2004 Million Dollar Baby (agree)2005 Crash (disagree) - A History of Violence2006 The Departed (disagree) - Pans Labyrinth2007 No Country for Old Men (agree)2008 Slumdog Millionaire (agree)
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Visually striking but drawn out and completely uninvolving.
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1) Jolie for "Changling"?! Seriously?! I LAUGHED (as did others I know) during her entire performance. One of the most forced performances by an actress I've ever seen in a major motion picture. 2) No "The Dark Knight" or "The Wrestler" for Best Picture or Director?! Shows how out of touch the voters are. Both of those films run circles around "The Reader" and "Frost/Nixon". 3) I may lose some of you on this one but... "Cloverfield" not getting anything for Sound Design?! That was, next to Wall*E, one of the best designed films I've seen in years. The Academy's picks are actually making The Golden Globes seem legit.
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Why not a song from Sarah Marshall indeed. Does Best Song always have to be something played over the end credits while people shamble out of the theater?And yes, your Twilight nod does come across as gay.
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Of all time. It was an unspired movie that sprang out of an uninspired idea. Also, what the hell is Brad Pitt doing up there when I can name at least two performances that were better?
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hopefully slumdog will get it...way better then button.
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Should have been: 2000 - Traffic. 2001 - The Fellowship of the Ring. 2002 - The Pianist. 2003 - Master and Commander The Far Side of the World. 2004 - The Aviator. 2005 - Munich. 2006 - The Departed. 2007 - There Will Be Blood
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Kate should've been nominated for Revolutionary Road instead of The Reader. Same for Roger Deakins.
Obviously The Dark Knight needed to be nominated for more awards. -
Fuck Slumdog Millionare. Fuck India for that matter. It pisses me off that this is the movie the awards shows are getting behind this year. Some cross between Quiz Show and Ghandi. Hearing the concept makes me want to fall asleep.
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should have been up for Sound, Production Design and Visual Effects. The fact that The Dark Knight is up for Best Editing and Skull isn't is pretty ridiculous. The Academy sure do hate Lucas though.
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Orbots do they actually televise the Razzies? Do awardees turn up to recieve?? Also I wasn't saying for a moment that INDY 4 deserved a nom but in the past most of Lucas' and Spielbergs blockbuster pics have been nominated in the FX and technical categories... not this year though boys.
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forrest gump redux.
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Check out this Variety article about how the nomination process works:
http://tinyurl.com/cc7jt9 -
Now guys...if you are smart, you'll tell every girl you know that you love this movie...and they will love you almost as much as they love me. Excuse me right now, I have to go cry, another lovely scene is coming on in the movie and I am going to sob...not just cry, and I'll weep too.
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Jan 22, 2009 11:55:59 AM CST
this argument that the Academy should nominate popular films....
by dannyglovers_dickblood
....people actually saw. FUCK THAT. Box office should not translate to awards. For that, I'm glad TDK wasn't nominated. A film that makes a bazillion dollars shouldn't be guaranteed a Best Picture nom. Tons of people go to see some horrible fucking shit. If we're going by Box Office-- than Indy IV and Hancock should also be nominated for Best Picture. This is exactly what the fucktards on the site would turn the Oscars into. And Judd Apatow would get the Lifetime Achievement Award. No fucking thanks. I'll stick with the decisions from the old folks home. You guys can bitch all you want-- if you don't wanna watch, than don't fucking watch. I guaranfuckingtee ratings will be up this year. -
Didn't you learn your lesson with trash talk when wixmmmm schooled you?
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In total agreement with you.
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Very underrated performer finally getting some recognition. Had a great year.
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Lets praise GOD that Beyonce wont be singing any of the nominated songs!
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with the exception of Slumdog Millionaire, it just seems that the Best Picture nominees are your run of the mill biopic films that were made in order to get someone an oscar. I am not so much mad that TDK didn't get a nod, more just mad at the blandness of the group that did get picked.
Also, Let the Right One In should have got a nomination for best foreign film. That is perhaps the best movie I have seen all year, horror or not. -
Your opinion about popular films is valid. But how can you say ratings are going to be? With only two or three films total that anyone actually saw why would they watch? Most of these films I couldn't go see even if I wanted to because they do not show outside of big metro areas. I don't think boxoffice should be any standard for garnering Oscars. What I will say is that the Oscars are irrelevant to anyone outside of the film industry or film school culture. People may still tune in for awhile just to see what people are wearing, but I can tell you that who actually wins these awards will not matter before long if they even matter now. Besides you can't tell me that there aren't popular commercial films that are just as deserving as these obscure films that no one goes to see. TO echo your own argument, a lack of viewers doesn;t make a film great either.
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Ledger got nominated,Now Shut the FUCK UP about TDK...The Dark Knight WAS NOT the Best Picture in 2008 so it should not have been nominated......
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TDK wasn't the best picture of the summer, never mind 2008. I do wish there had been room for Gran Torino and Clint but all and all this is a much better group of films than the last few years.
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The only reason the Academy is so high on SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE is that Hollywood is eager to suck in all those potential Bollywood investor bucks at a time when hedge fund money is suddenly scarce. It's really funny to see.
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And maybe we all should take up DannyGloverD-Blood's generous offer. Like taking candy from a baby. :)
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He's pretty much been elevated to sainthood by the Hollywood clique so you never know. 13 covers on Time magazine in one year, disgraceful.
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Jan 22, 2009 12:15:31 PM CST
Sally Hawkins actually turned in the best performance for Happy-
by waitingimpatientlyforingloriousbastards
Unbelievable that she was ommitted. Also, why The Reader? What's the academy's weird fixation with that movie? It was OK, but not great. The only ting great about it was Kate's amazing (SUPPORTING) performance.
Also, where is The Wrestler and Gran Torino for best song?
Lastly, The nominating committee from Sweden should all be shot. Let the Right One In deserves the Oscar for Best Foriegn Language Film. -
I am with you, but this is not how the Oscars work anymore. They used to mean something to the average moviegoer, but no longer. The Oscars seem to prefer to nominate films that they want to see make more money. I think they use the awards to prop up the types of films they would rather be making instead of the movies that average people want to see. I see it as a kind of war between the self-important people in the film industry and the people who pay to see their films.
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........and the Academy is not beholden to critics or their reviews. Most of the times the films are well reviewed, sure....but these are individuals voting. No one can tell them who to nominate. If TDK wasn't nominated, who fucking cares? How the fuck will that affect your life whether or not it wins? And its not like every Oscar winning film is seen by no one. How the fuck do you explain Titanic, Gladiator, Return of the King and many other financial hits? Oh they don't support your argument so we don't mention them, right? I get it. When the Academy sucked Peter Jackson's balls they were great-- now suddenly they are the villain again because they don't nominate a Batman movie. Oh fuck all of you.
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I think that nomination is a joke. I couldn't understand a word he said in the film.
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TDK did have a lot of stiff competition this year - a lot of quality films made it to theatres. This made it even tougher for TDK because it's unfairly considered a "genre film".
A shame that there was no Best Pic, Director or supporting actor nods for Eckhart or even Oldman.
BTW: What's all the hate for Button? Fincher did a good job with it. Seems people here are hard on it because it's a romance... to me, that's just as bad as disqualifying TDK for being a comic book adaptation - both reasons are shallow and unfair. -
There are only so many movies that .002% of the American people saw that can be nominated for Oscars like Jenkins and Leo. Hawkins would have been too much. Or in Happy Go Lucky's case, .00007% of people in the U.S.
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One of the most wonderful films of the year. Almost completely shut out of the Academy Awards, after being COMPLETELY shut out of the BAFTA's. Sally Hawkins won more critics awards than any other actress this year and yet wasn't nominated. Criminal. Happy for the Mike Lee nod though.
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If TDK took place during the holocaust it would win. Very funny observation!!! The problem is with the film, is that it didn't...and TDK is boring and overlong. Ask yourselves something, what did Bruce Wayne do that was human, through the whole film??? He just stood around...and or sat in chair while wearing suits...and talking near meaningless filler dialogue with Alfred. We learned nothing about Wayne, Alfred...Morgan Freeman's character, Commissioner Gordon, Rachel, nothing??? The film missed some very important emotional beats, that it should have had. They should have brought Joss Whedon in to write a love triangle between, Wayne, Rachel, and Dent...and really showed us that Bruce and Rachel love each other...so we could feel her death...and feel Bruce's loss. As well, the Joker could have used some Joss Whedon's sucker punch dialogue and motivations. Man, if they just brought in Joss and said...Dude, you have 20 pages to write a section in this movie showing us Wayne's emotional relationship with Rachel and the love triangle...and another 5 to 10 pages, working to beef up the Joker and his dialogue...and if they saved Harvey Dent, the villain for another film, they might have had something.Also, the Joker should have remained something of an urban legend until the middle of the 2nd act, no beng quite sure if he is real or not, not even his men? Chris Nolan and Brother...along with Goyer...blew that, because they failed to give the film heart, humor and substantive impact. Bruce Wayne should have tortured himself knowing he had the chance to kill Joker multiple times, and could have saved many lives...including Rachel's. The Joker was just a sad crazy who should have been euthanized...as that would have been the most humane thing to do for him...and for everyone else...and that is the problem with the movie, they failed to go there with it. Joker was essentially looking to commit suicide by cop...and Batman should have granted him his wish. The real villain of the film is Batman, because sometimes the lives of the innocent must go before one's code.
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....to the average moviegoer anymore? Oh really? Thats why Oscar winners see massive box-office bumps for weeks after the show? When you say the Oscars don't mean anything you really mean "They don't mean anything to AICN nerds." Be honest man.
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Reaffirm our belief that you guys are morons.
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The "quality of film" is a masturbatory exercise in fanboy vs arthouse vs mainstream futility that is pretty much fucking pointless. On the other hand, the number of people going to a movie after it has been nominated or won for best picture is well-documented, best demonstrated by boxofficemojo's illustrative charts. Best examples would be "There Will be Blood" earning 65% of its gross post nomination, Chicago earning 40%, etc etc. Even better - the mere fact that so many of the quality films are released late in the year demonstrates the profit-driven studios know the effect of the awards. Yes, many of these are strictly oscar-baiting, but suggesting the academy is out of touch is pretty much ignorant. And, seriously, fuck Wall-E. That movie blows chunks.
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I absolutely loved TDK, but I was not surprised that it did not get nominated. Actually, I'm more upset at the fact that the screenplay did not get nominated, and the performances by Aaron Eckhart and Gary Oldman were overlooked.
Heath Ledger should win Best Supporting Actor, but I would not be surprised if he is passed over as well. The Oscars are not like they used to be. TDK was more than a meg-hit at the box office, it was a great film as well.
The one thing that I did notice was the fact that the academy gave TDK a nomination for its biggest flaw, which was the editing. I thought there were a couple parts where the editing could have been done way better, but I think they did it by giving TDK a boost in the amount of nominations it received.
I will not watch it because most of those films did not interest me. The only thing I hope to see (actually, read about) is Heath Ledger win. He had the biggest impact in a film as a supporting actor, hands down. The only competition he has is Josh Brolin, and I would not be surprised at all if Brolin wins.
Also, I hope Mickey Rourke gets Best Actor. -
Regardless of TDK being best picture of the year (it was), Nolan deserved a nomination for taking a genre franchise superhero movie and elevating it to an oscar worthy film. The Ledger nomination was to appease the public and there is no way that Ledger will lose that but the nominations stink of the Academy bullshit that produced the lowest ratings in Oscar history last year. I havent watched the Oscars in over 20 years and the Dark Knight snub won't bring me back for this one. Still TDK winning any Oscar will be an achievement considering Acadamey bias.
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Spot on. The Dark Knight has the most boring central character in any film i've ever seen. And you're right about the missing emotional beats, something that completely undermined Rachel's death.
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Should have been: 2000 - Traffic.
AWFUL MOVIE, ALMOST UNWATCHABLE TODAY
2001 - The Fellowship of the Ring.
MAYBE
2002 - The Pianist
RIDICULOUS.
2003 - Master and Commander
SO BAD I WALKED OUT. BEYOND INSULTINGLY STUPID
2004 - The Aviator.
REALLY? WOW, JUST WOW.
2005 - Munich
SO PAINFULLY BAD EVEN THE AUTHOR OF THE ORIGINAL STORY RIDICULED THIS PIECE OF SS SILLINESS
2006 - The Departed
ANOTHER EMPTY PIECE OF OVERBLOWN HOLLYWOOD HOOPLA THAT NO ONE WOULD EVER WANT TO SEE AGAIN
2007 - There Will Be Blood
HMMMM...MAYBE.
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Whether anyone's seen it or not, it doesn't change the greatness of her performance. I agree with Bungion Boy. It was a great movie and a shame Hawkins wasn't nominated for it.
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Fuck. I like the movie. I saw it 3 times in the theater. It was a great theatrical experience and everyone except Bale in it is great. But come on now-- the screenplay? You thought it deserved a nomination? Seriously? Its not an award for Story Structure, its an award for everything on the page. I read about half of it after seeing the movie, ands its amazing how bad the dialogue is on the page. It reads very fucking juvenile and you start to realize poor Bale had nothing to work with. Read the script. Its shit. The structure is great. The film is great. The script itself is not.
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There are a bunch of good ones on there, I'm happy to see Richard Jenkins and Michael Shannon are Oscar nominees (although I haven't seen those movies and probaly won't watch the second one), it's hilarious that Robert Downey Jr. is getting an Oscar nomination for wearing blackface in a movie about how stupid it would be if someone did blackface to try to get an Oscar nomination, and I was glad Taraji P. Henson got nominated because she was really good in that movie and deserves some recognition.
But I can't help but be a little disappointed. I kind of thought they had evolved beyond that "well, the Weinsteins have a new movie about nazis or something, and Kate Winslet is in it, must be important" mentality. And I think it was a great year for movies, but you'd never guess it from those nominees. Of course I'm used to my favorite movies not being recognized - I'm not gonna complain that Chewitel Eijiofor is not nominated for REDBELT (though, let's be honest fellas, he should be) - but it's not like DARK KNIGHT and WALL-E are a secret. They're being punished for being openly commercial movies that happen to be important instead of commercial movies pretending to be small but important. People have already discussed the meaning and substance of DARK KNIGHT a thousand times more than they have the explicitly political FROST/NIXON, and will continue to. WALL-E is a timeless classic and I respect that it got the writing nomination, but that will be remembered 50 years from now and I bet you THE READER will never be watched or mentioned again 6 months after it comes out on DVD. The only reason I've even heard of it is because it was hyped up as an Oscar contender, it exists for no other reason. And yet it gets the nomination over WALL-E so that it can be in the cartoon category alongside a mediocre movie where John Travolta plays a talking dog. That's real fair.
And you know, I was ready for BENJAMIN BUTTON to be a masterpiece, but it's not, and everyone I've talked to is in the "pretty good" category. It always makes me sad to see a director like Fincher get his first nomination for his not as good movie.
And what the fuck is up with no Bruce Springsteen? Not the biggest fan of end credits songs, but that was a great one. Not sure how that happened. (I was rooting for Clint even though I knew he wouldn't get up on stage and sing that.)
Anyway, whine whine whine, this is nothing new, but what about the new era of responsibility, Hollywood? You are shaming your country and your ancestors. -
What the hell did he have to do, hey everybody wear something from the late 70s. Come on,
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Those film choices were out of the films that were nominated for Best Picture. Let's hear your choices. Otherwise shut the fuck up and go learn about filmmaking.
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Someone stated that the reason Springsteen's track for "The Wrestler" wasn't nominated was because it was included on another piece of work, namely Bruce's new album. However, I remember Janet Jackson getting a nomination for her song "Again" even though that was on her album.
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that's gotta hurt
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Seriously, stop talking all this crap about actors only deserving to be nominated if a certain amount of people saw their performance. That doesn't matter. The strength of the performance would remain if 100 or 100,000,000 people saw it. To use an example you'd get - Veronica Mars' viewing figures were never huge. Yet would you deny that praise and awards?
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My Wife said how the hell she got nominated? all she did throughout the movie (The Changeling) was cry; "where's my sonnnnnnn"?Sure it may not really matter if TDK got snubbed, but it would have been cool to have compete against all the other picks.Not to mention breaking the elitist choices that are mostly Dramas.
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You thought Master and Commander was insultingly stupid? What the fuck are you talking about?!
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And I do not believe for a second that Ledger would've been nominated, or even discussed as a contender, if he hadn't died. I think he deserves it but I don't think those people would recognize that under different circumstances.
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His performance in RR blows most of these others out of the water. Rourke has one real emotional scene that he knocks out of the park. Leo has about 10, all masterfully done. I'm no Leo fan, but I can't believe he's not getting more attention. Huge snub.
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Yes, there are still boxoffice bumps. Oscar awards still probably mean an increase in rentals. Yes, unfortunately most people are still beholden to the opinion of the "experts" and are unable to think for themselves about whether they want to see a movie or not. But that is going to change. As soon as they see enough of these films to realize that most of them are not what they typically enjoy, then the bumps are going to stop. How long will that take? That depends on the viewer and how ingrained they are into thinking that Oscar=entertaining. Mark my words, the Oscars will be totally irrelevant within the next decade if they continue this trend of rewarding only obscure films.
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Spot on.
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in his "Well, at least we got Obama." posting. But award shows are bullshit any way you slice it, and classic movies aren't really know until 10-15 years have passed by.
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"Once again this is the same academy that opted not to honor Citizen Kane, Casablanca, Double Indemnity, Star Wars, or Pulp Fiction with Best Picture, in most cases in favor of films that have been long-since forgotten."
'Casablanca' did win Best Picture, as well as Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. 'Star Wars' pretty much swept the technical awards, which makes sense since it was a B-movie with A-level production value, before losing to 'Annie Hall.' 'Pulp Fiction' lost to 'Forrest Gump,' a verdict I disagreed with at the time but have come to understand. -
Jan 22, 2009 12:38:38 PM CST
Ledger would have gotten a nom if he were still alive
by blindambition238
Remember the AA nominate Depp for his Jack Sparrow in the 1st Pirates movie.
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or I should have said "recognized"
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Didn't he? For "Philadelphia?"
I'm just sayin'. -
Look TDK shouldn't win Best Picture. I loved it. I still love it. But there are plenty of other relatable films out there that were probably better. Having said that, TDK should've still gotten the nod. Why? Because of all things GLADIATOR won. And there is no one anywhere, at anytime, and anyhow that can convince me GLADIATOR was a better achievement than TDK. (I know we're comparing this year's films. Bear with me.) Nolan managed to somehow make something that had previously been relegated to pure fanboy summer fare and make it more than that. He made a relatable and even pretty believable film out of one of America's leading pop icons. That, in and of itself, means something. Giving out the nod to TDK wouldn't result in doing the same for HANCOCK or INDY, because it was nothing like those films. TDK affected people in a big way. Batman, the character, and by extension the Joker, are mythic images born out of the collective American psyche. And, unfortunately, up until now, (while the 1988 Burton film was a valiant effort)no one had truly captured why. I think Nolan really got it. So, in my humble opinion, not giving him the nod when so many previous films of lesser quality have received it is just not-so-veiled discrimination based on the subject matter of the work instead of the quality.
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the worst movie ever made?
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He is right that it will directly result in poorer ratings than they would've gotten if there had been a Best Picture nod for TDK.
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a nomination for Jack Sparrow. The academy seems willing to acknowledge when an actor creates an Iconic character in a blockbuster -- at least these days.
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that The Reader was a pile of dull unmitigatedly drab shite? I mean yes winslet did capture perfecly the Germaic utter lack of je ne sais pas, by having her an ungainly clomping teutonic cougar, but the story was bland, preictable and unless you are a german riddled with holocaust guilt, it was unfathomably stupid.
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Awwwwwww hell naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw!!
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Seriously. I was so looking forward to the Best Pic noms. Wasn't expecting a Dark Knight win, just really wanted it to be recognised. And these are just... rubbish.
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Seriously. I was so looking forward to the Best Pic noms. Wasn't expecting a Dark Knight win, just really wanted it to be recognised. And these are just... rubbish.
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George Clooney would've played Batman instead of Bale.Marvel will now hire Harvey Weinstein to help produce Captain America (set during the holocaust)so it can get nominated for best picture when it comes out.
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TDK wasn't and will never be the greatest movie ever...it's overrated, and (unfortunately) aided by Ledger's death. Iron Man was the 2008 superhero movie, it's a complete work that is enjoyable from beginning to end.............................but, really, do you now see that you might be wrong? That TDK is not the masterpiece you thought about? Obama already won, things are "brighter", get over it. Leave all those thoughts aside, rewatch TDK with a clean and empty mind, and you will see the truth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . plus, if TDK had been nominated the ratings would've been higher (supposedly), either ways, next year, back down again...Wall-E was also robbed for Best Movie and Best Actor (you give the award to the animators). Speed Racer wasn't nominated for Visual Effects, how come? Hellboy II not for costumes, how come? GET OVER TDK, see the truth...
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Sorry man... But it's true.
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Jan 22, 2009 12:42:44 PM CST
I'm even more shocked that there is no DK cinematography nom.
by evil hobbit
Dark Knight had easily one of the most impressive cinematography in a film since since... I dunno, a long long time. And not just because of Imax. Bummer bummer, at least Nolan should have gotten a best Director nom. I can see how it didn't get a best picture though.
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13 noms for "Forrest Gump 2" and no BP Nom for "The Wrestler"!?! Worst... Nominations... EVER. Here's hoping that Slumdog kicks Fincher's overrated ass all over the place that night.
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Nope. One reason-- the leading man in Gladiator knows how to act.
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Jan 22, 2009 12:44:25 PM CST
Oh and Wall-E is defiinately best director/best picture material
by evil hobbit
Fuck the reader.
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right up the Bat-Hole
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shadows and dust Maximus!" Gladiator shat all over The Dark Knight.
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So angry right now! This was the worst awards season film I've seen in a while! Pretentious, self indulgent and the most obvious attempt at "oscar bait" I've ever seen. NO NO NO! It's rediculous that this would be nominated. Ten years from now everyone will still be discussing the Dark Knight and what an achievment it was. Will anyone even REMEMBER The Reader?
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The Dark Knight DID get Best Cinematography. And rightfully so - above everything else that was one of the key strengths in the film. And I completely agree about WALL-E.
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I'm outraged.In fifty years time, people will still be discussing that masterpiece.Fuck you Oscar people.
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....could have gotten a Cinematography and Sound nomination.
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Look. It's useless to say that GLADIATOR was better. It wasn't; at least not as an achievement. It was BRAVEHEART in Rome. I liked Derek Jacobi. And of course, the late Oliver Reed was amazing. But it's easy to lend gravitas to a story like that. TDK managed to actually take seriously something that previously not been and make it accessible and believable.--And Danny, seriously, you may not have liked the "growl", but we all know Christian Bale can act.
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I'm amazed at how many TDK "Not that great" quotes I'm seeing on this page. Did somebody splice clips of Batman and Robin into the reels when you watched it? I'm not suprised by the Accademy's decision as most of the greatest films in history are slighted at the Oscars. And The Dark Knight truly is of that glorious stock. Here is to the truly best movie of the year.
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TDK had no chance of taking home Best Picture or Best Director. Zero. Zilch. NO FUCKING CHANCE. So why is a meaningless nomination so important to you? Nobody ever remembers the losers. You always have 2 movies vying for the big prize (Button and Slumdog this year) and the other 3 are mere ballast. TDK wouldn't even been one of the final two, so fuck it. No movie whose main character growls every line is ever going to win Best Picture. The Academy was right to shun this glorified action movie.
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I am so blind for not seeing that.
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Gladiator is weak.
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as my official .sig. 10 words that sum it all up.
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Christian could act great when he was a kid. I think he lost that now and he equates physical change to great acting. Rescue Dawn is a great example of that. His acting is absolute unlikeably boring shit. I sat there thinking how much better the movie would have been if Steve Zahn were the lead. Fuck Christian Bale. Act my ass. He can growl, mope, lose weight, and bulk up. Real fucking impressive. -
Just entertain me, give me quality entertainment, and keep the self importance to a low rumble. I've never watched the Academies grand circle jerk..and never will. And by the way...Wall-E was PURE art...simply beautiful.
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THANK JESUS!! I'm probably more qualified for the Senate than that hizz-oh.
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No love for Cloverfield?
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Yes, we all loved The Dark Knight. Ya, Heather Ledger was cool and it made a ton of cash...BUT....the simple fact is it simply isn't Best Picture material. (There, I said it and am now eagerly awaiting all the fanboi abuse). Some of the acting wasn't quite as tight as it could've been and Two-Face's character seemed rushed and almost tacked on as he hurdled toward insanity and violence. The editing also wasn't very good (highly noticeable on repeat viewings). And yes, the IMAX scenes looked kickass....but seeing something in massive scale is NOT the same as 'gorgeous cinematography work'. TDK kicked ass...but it wasn't the best film of the year by any means.
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Jan 22, 2009 1:06:10 PM CST
Well, I don't think that Depp was Oscarworthy in Pirates...
by derlanghaarige
...I think he was more than Ledger, because Depp's performance took an otherwise pretty normal summermovie to a whole different level of entertainment, while Ledger was overacting in an otherwise pretty low key crime drama. Imagine DeNiro's would have acted in Heat like he did in Rocky & Bullwinkle.
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Nolan should have been nominated, the bank robbery alone is better directed than any of the other movies combined. The hospital explosion. batman fighting the mobsters in the carpark with that music. yeah academy can suck a dick.
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That THE PRESTIGE and EQUILIBRIUM (though, that's a bit older) proves he can act. I can't believe physical strain is the sum total of his acting tool kit.--As for RESCUE DAWN, I like Steve Zahn okay... But Jeremy Davies is ALWAYS the shit. See the HELTER SKELTER remake and his audition reel for it if you can.
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Those who argue that TDK made 500 whatever million versus all the other nominees (Pennsy, looking at you), is an empty arguement. But as I stated earlier both the Producers Guild chose TDK in their nominees for best picture, and the Directirs Guild chose Nolan in their choices for best director. Those are two big nominations from the unions themselves. That TDK got snubbed in both, in favor of The Reader the usual "IMPORTANT film dealing with the HOLOCAUST and GUILT", is the reason that a lot of people are upset.
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Jan 22, 2009 1:09:33 PM CST
DANNYGLOVERS_DICKBLOOD ohh shit the fuck up you cunt
by most excellent ninja
you are the worst poster this side of animalstructure. Bale is probably the second best actor on the planet, second to Day Lewis. You talk so much shit. The Machinist you forget he is skinny and he's just losing his mind, the scene where he confronts jennifer jason leigh's character with the photo was amazing. Fuck yourself dickblood, you know shit.
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comparisons, but since when did Gump become this beloved film. I swear 6 months ago people were moaning that it was the sappy film that beat Pulp Fiction for best picture (which let's face it, both films pale next to Ed Wood). Now it's a beloved classic. What a difference a few months make.
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I still think his debut in Spielberg's Empire Of The Sun is one of the best "child" performances in film.
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I don't care about the reason, Springsteen not being nominated is a fucking crime. And it was simply the best film of the year. I feel that it's the only bonafide classic of any of these films. Both times I've seen it my heart has been in my throat at the end. Milk was probably the second best of the year followed by Slumdog. Great films, also, but not as good as The Wrestler.
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Jan 22, 2009 1:13:38 PM CST
most excellent ninja -- you sound like a fucking retard
by dannyglovers_dickblood
fat 13 year old slobbering all over himself "And and and and Batman is cool....and and and he beat up the mob....and and and and I like the music when it goes DA DA DA DA.....and and he just kicks a lot of butt....and and and it should have won every award in the galaxy as best movie of all time ever!!!"
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It won't win anything major because the lead character doesn't do anything in 3 hours. He just observes and people die. It's a "great movie" for people who don't watch many movies.
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And The Machinist is like most of his films, overrated shit. How does he manage to be so consistently boring? He even looks half asleep in Terminator. -
Jan 22, 2009 1:16:06 PM CST
TDK did not recieve a best pic nom because...
by i_am_not_the_droid_you_are_looking_for
Hollywood realised that Heat, a far superior film which TDK mimics, didn't get nominated for ANYTHING.So feel lucky to have gotten your couple of noms TDK fans.
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hopefully Final Crisis happens before and Darkseid eats the academy "All is One in Darkseid".
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Jan 22, 2009 1:18:14 PM CST
I couldn't be happier at the Wall*E and TDK snubs
by hawaiian organ donor
I haven't seen The Reader or Frost/Nixon yet, but if anything people should be more upset that The Fall got snubbed for cinematography, The Visitor and Defiance all but got ignored and once again comedy is all but absent save for Downey Jr. The foreign nominations are a joke as are the FX contenders.
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How come the Oscars, Baftas, Golden Globes, etc. come up with the same small group of films as each other every year? I suspect the clueless voters only watch the same six screeners they get sent over the whole year. It's pretty clear that these awards shows despise OUR favorite genres, the most popular genres. It's also clear that they have a pathetic record (particularly over the past thirty years or so) of not picking the films which have had a lasting value, appeal and impact. The Oscars is just an excuse to hype box office turkeys like The Reader. Although, hey, I loved Slumdog.
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wasn't nominated? It's better than The Dark Knight.
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Praise the Lord.
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and you sound like a dumb cunt every time you post. kill yourself.
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"......and and and Christian Bale he's like really strong in this one and and and and batcave is burned they are working on it and and and and and its cool cause guy gots face half burned but he still alive and and and when he screams its like AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH and and and Joker-Man is scary too and and and and I like the DA DA DA DA music and and and pretty much its greatest movie of all time and and and yeah....its the bestest!"
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That'll help break up the monotany of seeing people get awards, because we don't want to see that. Who wants to see people get awards?
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A lesson: It's called your opinion. You can state your opinion as if it's gospel truth all you want, but it still boils down to whether or not something is or isn't your cup of tea. Thanks, funwithwords, for bearing the stressful responsibility of being so "level-headed" and informing us that TDK wasn't "worthy" enough, or whatever. I stand in awe of your vast intellectual superiority and infallible taste. Oh, right, it's not "taste", but in your warped view "truth". So let's sum it up: any one of you out there want the definitive word on any particular film, guys like funwithwords will be thrilled to "educate" you.
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That's what E! Entertainment Television's website said about TDK's snubbing today: "The Dark Knight did earn eight overall nominations, but aside from its expected acting honor for the late Heath Ledger, it didn't bash its way out of the gilded ghetto for big-budget superhero movies: the special-effects and technical categories."
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"TDK got the Bat-Pole"
LOL... very, very funny! -
Seriously, THE READER? Indy 4 got better reviews, Dark Knight is one of the best reviewed movies of the year, and...God this is an awful list.
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fuck the academy. who cares what those self righteous pricks have to say. watch something great that wasn't on this list like Let the Right One in instead of this garbage.
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will be the longest in history... half the show will be taken up looking back at the people who passed away... there seems to be a lot this year.
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I thought the direction, writing, and picture was worthy of nomination. It's so disappointing that it didn't get a nod for Best Director, Best Picture, or Best Screenplay.
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No matter who loses, the rest of us win.
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That's what the Academy needs - "...and the Oscar for Jewish suffering goes to..." - that's what Directors do when they want a cheap, easy Oscar (they do a film about WW2 atrocities or related tales like the limpdick film that was The Reader). I still don't think TDK was even close to Best Picture; but I do agree the Academy has a VERY transparent agenda and it governs the way it votes big time.
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This is fucking retarded. I remember shit tons of memorable films i watched this year.... or did I?
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I too received an email and I did sign up for Mori's initial newsletter, but under a different email address. The one he spammed was the one I registered on here with.
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An outright snub. Bastards. NO VIEWERS FOR YOU, MOTHERFUCKING OSCARS !!!!!
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shut up and go away if this is your biggest problem...gitmo has been closed down and im rounding up all the benjamin button haters and giving them a one-way ticket to go live in the BEARD
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Snowdog, I'm with you--having watched both films repeatedly on blu-ray...Kung Fu Panda is my favorite of the two. Now, normally Dreamworks + Talking Animals = Vomit, as far as I'm concerned. But KFP transcended its roots. As for Wall-E, I hate to admit this, but Devin at CHUD nailed it--it's 30 minutes of a brilliant film followed by about an hour of a pretty good one. For me, it adds up to less than the sum of its parts. I can't help but think it would have been a stronger movie if it had stuck to its early convictions and junked the humans altogether--their pudgy, soft-focus cartoonishness just feels out of place after the photorealism of the early scenes. A story about humanity's robotic servants continuing their rote tasks long after their creators went extinct could have made for a more interesting (and sobering) movie, IMO.
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Seriously, The Reader has a .07% chance of winning best picture. As would any of the films that occupied that 5th slot. So why not at least pick a nominee that'll put asses in seats?
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So, Danny, you think Russell Crowe is a much better actor than Christian Bale? You think Russell Crowe was better in 3:10 to Yuma than Bale? Bale out-acted Crowe and had a better character to work with. Even though Crowe was good, it wasn't as challening a role as Bale's. Russell Crowe has been sleepwalking through the last few of his films (3:10, Body of Lies, looks like State of Play is the same, boring shit from him)
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Seriously. Who the fuck are these people who love this movie so much, and why?
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Jan 22, 2009 1:44:44 PM CST
SHUT UP ABOUT THE DARK KNIGHT< FOR FUCK'S SAKE!!!!!!!!!!!
by kid idioteque
Fucking hell, you morons. It wasn't that good. That ferry boat shit at the end was so convoluted, it was basically one long non-sequitir. Ledger was really good, but he really shouldn't win. The direction was fine, not earth-shattering. Good Lord. Being upset about this is ridiculous. It's a COMIC BOOK movie.
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and here's why... Cos i am fed up of the same predictable arty farty guff being pushed into our faces year in year out. The last 7/8 years the winners have been dull and the choice sucked too. I am not going mad about TDK not being nominated, I called that one after I saw the film. But Slumped dogged Million bleugh and Frosty/Nixons Talky Talky movie over such amazement as Wall-E and The Wrestler? Where is the Academy's balls? Oh year, in the mouths of the Weinsteins, of course!!!
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it was a draw
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The best picture winner may get a week or two bump in the box office if they are still in the theaters, but outside of that? The best picture seldom if ever sell big on DVD. Titanic and LOTR excluded. Did Forest Whitaker's Oscar help land him his role in Vantage Point? Halle Berry in Catwoman? Did Phillip Seymour Hoffman's price go up all of a sudden, and now he has a pick of better scripts? Anyone RECALL who won best actress last year? Ummm that foriegn chick...The Oscars are just the final stop in the dog and pony show that this time of year has become. The common jamoke could care less, and the entertainment starved enjoy it like a Kentucky Derby with people.
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Okay okay....I forgot about 3:10. I think its Bale's only great adult performance. I agree he was better than Crowe in that film. But that was more a writing thing. Overall Crowe wipes the floor with that boy. In The Insider and L.A. Confidential he puts out performances that Bale will never rival.
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Jan 22, 2009 1:45:38 PM CST
Being a "comic book movie" makes it less worthy of praise?
by cruel_kingdom
Stupid.
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No offense to the gays.
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No, but it does make it less important.
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same ones who cried, bitched, and moaned when it was announced he was playing Batman. Make up your minds. Oh, and Crowe is the better actor of the two.
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The "arty farty" films you refer to are selected over the popcorn fare that you so obviously love because they are far more artistic films. Period.
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http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=50835610951&ref=mf
My Boycott the Oscars group. Come join, it will be fun. Lets spread the hate! -
while i would rather see it there than the turgid reader i would rather see the wrestler then than tdk. i mean come on just because it made a ton of money doesn't make it the best film.
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I do not share your view that a film's type of source material makes it less important. Good is good no matter what it's based on.
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Jan 22, 2009 1:51:10 PM CST
Don't worry Dark Knight fans...
by waitingimpatientlyforingloriousbastards
Inglourious Basterds will be the best movie of 2009, in my estimation ;), and there's no doubt in my mind that at most it may receive a screenplay nomination...
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I agree with you about The Insider. Crowe was unbelievable in that, and it's one of my favorite movies. But I think the overall body of work, Christian has the edge. Bale has been more exciting to watch the last several years, and he gives 100% in every role he does. Crowe just doesn't seem to care that much anymore. He's still a fat ass from Body of Lies, and Ridley Scott demanded that he lose the weight for Nottingham, but he hasn't yet.
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If Sean Penn had played Harvey Dent, the academy would be all over that shit because they fucking love that cocksucker. He's the worst over-actor ever and I don't understand why any movie he's in automatically gets a free fucking pass. And why does Dark Knight get best makeup but not best screenplay? Think they got their categories mixed up... since the only makeup was messy Heath clown face, and the rest was CG Harvey Dent. Oscars are a joke.
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If you don't like Christian Bale in Batman, whatever. You think he's a boring actor, I don't get it, but fine. But I challenge you to claim he was bad in AMERICAN PSYCHO. You have consistently gone beyond the call of duty in being so utterly wrong about pretty much everything that it seems impossible, but I DARE you to cross into this line of headscratchingly bizarre, bordering on brain damage incorrectness. DO YOU HAVE THE BALLS, DICKBLOOD?
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Harsh Times and American Psycho being two prime examples. Crowe is terrible when he's asked to do this. Crowe's better at the subtle stuff (like The Insider), but he has a tendancy to go so subtle that he looks like he's ready to go into a coma.
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That Tom and Jerry origin movie might have the edge.
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So The Wrestler and Wall-e are popcorn flicks??? Read what I said you numpty! Besides, Can you say A Beautiful Mind or No Country For Old Men will be see in 20 years time as masterpieces?? No. Just films that undeservedly won Oscars cos Money talks!
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Sorry, but you are retarded. Had to be said. There, I said it.
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Now there's a movie!
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...I'll instantly forgive the insane lack of Gran Torino and Wall-E in the same category.
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Would Warner Bros still be cutting 800 people? It was a record year and they're afraid of not having another one. A lot of this is a pre-emptive strike against loss they're afraid to have. So if they make money this is all for nothing.
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Good-for-drivel, senile Zionist hacks !
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So am I missing something? Everyone's fired up about TDK not being nominated for Best Picture (which it's not really worthy of) but Darren Aranovsky who directed The Wrestler doesn't get nominated at all but Stephen Daldry does for the Reader which was like watching two retarded geriatric flies fuck? And The Reader gets a best picture nom but The Wrestler is left off the list? What am I missing?
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You thought THAT should be up for Best Picture? It wasn't even original, and was racist as fuck to boot. And Clint OVERACTED with that guttural growl that was a cross between Bale in TDK and Carl from Sling Blade.
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Sean Penn must've sucked your cock too. I don't blame you for standing up for him, I'm sure he's quite good at fellating by now, after going down on the entire academy. Enjoy.
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Tell me the bad Penn movie that received Oscar nominations, Mattman Returns. I'm really curious to see how far your stupidity can reach.
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Jan 22, 2009 2:00:37 PM CST
The Academy doesn't know the difference between makeup and CG
by garbageman33
Let's face it, the Academy is old and out of touch. Always have been. That should've been obvious the moment Hoop Dreams was snubbed ten years ago. You can make arguments for and against The Dark Knight, but the Hoop Dreams snubbing was so blatant, I think it may have given Roger Ebert cancer. After that, nothing they do surprises me. Especially not nominating a comic book movie.
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Are you freaking nuts? What the hell do you have against him? You think he's the "worst over-actor ever"... Penn's range is astounding. Have you seen Dead Man Walking, Carlito's Way, Fast Times, I could list 10 more.
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What the fuck do you think I've been talking about?
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I couldn't have said it better myself. I haven't seen the Wrestler, Frost/Nixon, or Slumdog yet, but from everything else I've seen, nothing from 2008 really stands up to No Country For Old Men or There Will Be Blood
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Have you actually SEEN it?
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Oh fuck, what have I done? I've made fun of Sean Cocksucking Penn and everyone's pissed. I know you all love him because he cries in every role... but that's not good acting. Why the fuck did he start bawling in the Interpreter? I'll never know.
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I'm gonna go out on a limb and see either because the director wanted that or the script called for it. You don't like him because he selects roles in which he has to cry? Um...
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He was good in that, because he played a cocksucking asshole.
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...all the other Clint movies that have nabbed major noms in the last few years.
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stop yr bitchin, these are the facts ladys...TDK is not nominated. done. Button is. Does that make it a better film? No..it is a better film because everything it was nominated for...I do think Button is the best films that i've seen in the last few years. I challenge any of you haters to find any flaw in Button or a better film..til then shut the fuck up...and boycott the oscars..i really do give a shit
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Benjamin as a character had no personality. That's a pretty big fucking flaw there.
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That's why The Wrestler didn't get a best picture nod. Meanwhile, Angelina Jolie and her histrionics got nominated. Reminds me of the year Sean Penn beat Bill Murray because Bill Murray never stood in the middle of a Tokyo street and screamed "IS THAT MY DAUGHTER IN THERE?!"
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Come ON! And I get that RR disappointed some people (not as much as the Reader, though), so I'm not shocked it didn't get a best Best Picture nod, and I loved Benjamin Button, but there is NO WAY Brad Pitt turned in a stronger performance in that than Leo in Revolutionary Road. I can't even believe that. This was the best performance of DiCaprio's career and the Academy didn't give a shit. And damn, I'm thinking Winslet's gonna lose again, too.I also loved Frost/Nixon, but Chris Nolan deserved a spot in that directors list over both Ron Howard and Stephen Daltry. Yep, overall, these nominations somehow feel like one big "Fuck You" by the Academy. I'm glad In Bruges got in there, though, with that Screenplay nod (aka, the "sorry, our memory's not good enough to nominate you for Best Picture, so here's a consolation prize" nomination that was also given to Almost Famous and Eternal Sunshine for the same reason).
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Is "Let the Right One In" eligible? If it is, then that deserves the best foreign film Oscar.
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I agree about In Bruges. It's actually my favorite movie of 2008.
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No Best Picture Nomination for Paul Blart Mall Cop...I say Boycott
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That's like saying, "Find a drunk person on Spring Break".
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Let the Right One In didn't get nominated by its country of origin, so it wasn't able to be voted on by the Academy. I agree with you though.
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was also an amazing foreign language film... no love from France.
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Benjamin had no personality? Now I see where you're coming from... subtle, nuanced characters do nothing for you. You need a cry-baby who bellows all his lines, like Sean Penn, so you'll know exactly how you're supposed to feel.
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So glad the screenplay got recognized. It's one of those films where the dialogue is so good, that even if you've seen the movie 3 times, there are new quotes that pop up that you forgot were so damn funny or good or whatever the first time you saw it. It reminds me of Pulp Fiction in that way...
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Nice language there with the "cocksucking asshole" during a serious film discussion. I'll bet Ebert frequently says, "Well, this guy is a cocksucking asshole..." I hear that Francois Truffaut, Andre Basin, and the Cahiers du Cinema crowd used to judge movies based on the "cocksucking asshole" criterion, as well.
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Jan 22, 2009 2:14:29 PM CST
F*ck the oscars commitee in the @ss with hot iron bars.
by damien chowder
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I've never been there, but I'm sure it's a sh*thole.
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Without that manipulative swelling music I would not have known that I was supposed to be sad when the infant Benjamin died, right...
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He was well cast in American Psycho. He can play an asshole well. The movie sucks balls, and I'm shocked you would bring it up after your rants on misogyny.
The problem with Bale is, he is sort of an asshole in everything he has done since. There is nothing likable about his portrayal of Bruce Wayne.
I'm completely wrong about this? There are lots of people that will agree that Bale was the weakest thing in TDK. -
Jan 22, 2009 2:16:49 PM CST
Bale was better than Crowe in 3:10? WTF?
by i_am_not_the_droid_you_are_looking_for
Crowe shat all over Bale in that. Crowe was charismatic as fuck and Bale was, well... Bale. He plays two types. The strong, silent type with a moral agenda or slick, rich boy. In the Batman flicks he gets to play both. Don't get me wrong, he's a good actor and is brilliant in American Psycho but his range is shit.
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was Eckhart's courtroom scene. It came across as totally forced and premeditated.
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I like how you berate me for the "cocksucking asshole" remark, yet your entire argument consists of calling me "retarded" and "stupid".
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I know what you mean! I've watched In Bruges 3 times now, and each time I get into it even more.
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Jan 22, 2009 2:17:38 PM CST
If Holocaust = Oscar Bait, then Rob Zombie's bound to get an Osc
by agentarchangel
Mark my words, the 2015 Oscars will be the year of "Werewolf Women of the SS"! Best Actor: Nicholas Cage, Best Original Screenplay, Best Score, Best Cinematography, and Best Picture! You heard it here first!
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...when he played Benjamin Button on television in the early eighties? Wasn't that the name of Mork & Mindy's kid who was born as an adult and aged backwards?
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I can't believe people on this site like that boring, recycled, Eric Roth bullshit.
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I was only stating fact when I called you a fucking moron. Oh, I guess I didn't call you that... Well, now I have, you fucking moron.
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I have, for a long time, suspected the Oscars are just negotiated and traded off and fixed by the studio heads. Not voted on. Its not the voters who count it is who counts the votes. TDK doesn't need an Oscar to boost DVD sales, and that is what the Oscars have been reduced to I think. They want Benjamen Buttons to be unquestionably regarded as a classic heart rending blah blah blah. No one better dare think it is less than that. I didn't like Forrest Gump or Private Ryan either. They weren't bad but they didn't do anything for me either. Just not my cup o tea. But the business wants that wonderful rep that if YOU don't love their movie then something is wrong with YOU. Why wouldn't they? Titanic was mediocre but if you say that in some circles its like blasphemy. The Emperor's new clothes syndrome.
So now that dvd sales and rentals are so vital to their profit I am sure they make deals. "You take Best Actor and let me have Best Picture. I'll take Best Editing and we can give this one Best Sound. It need the boost to push it to the 15 million mark." -
garbageman33 still waiting on the flaw or do you need to see the film first?
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Hmmmmm...that scene was a bit weak. But overall I think Aaron did a much better job than Bale. He is likable, and he has charisma....something Bale knows nothing about. You know what made that scene feel cheap was that shitty ass piano playing lightly. God that shit sounded like an after-school special on teen pregnancy. It was for that music cue right there that Hans didn't get nominated. Well.....that and the fact that 30 people wrote the score.
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Richard King - Dark Knight - Best Sound Design... what y'all taling about???? SNUBBED MY ASSSSS!!!!!
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So I've evolved from retarded, to stupid, to fucking moron. Yes, you are clearly the epitome of "serious film discussion."
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Fucking academy is full of a buch of twats. Harry, Benjamin Button wasnt that good.
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Nothing ... just felt like writing that subject line.
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I hope that username isn't taken... that's brilliant
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Because that was once in a lifetime brilliance.
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"It's not enough to bash in heads, you have to bash in minds" - Captain Hammer
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You mean the Johnny Depp movie? Jim Jarmusch kicked ass with that film (it's imminently watchable over and over again).
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The Reader was a shitty story with good acting (from Winslet) while GT was a good-ish story (with piss-poor shitty acting...minus Clint). Disappointed to see the Reader get a best movie nod though. Wall-e or TDK should have been up their, but no real sweat off of my balls.
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Benjamin Button has currently grossed 115 million dollars on a 150 million dollar budget after being out for almost a month. It has a very long way to go to break even, let alone make a decent profit.
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Can you imagine the entire middle of the country watching in shock before grunting in unison, "Hon, get me my gun, I'm a gonna go to Hollywood and kill them Jeebus mocking fuckers..."
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Yeah that was pretty brilliant, even though it didn't have Sean Penn, Lord of All Cocksuckers in it.
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Dead Man Walking... Sean Penn is in both Milk and Dead Man Walking... ha ha
Though I have seen Dead Man w/ Depp. It was oddly enjoyable, though I could watch Depp in anything -
Lazy me typing on a Treo ...
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It would've gotten nominated.
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"They're shooting the buffalo!"
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Do you have any tobacco?
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PUBLIC ENEMIES will own your ass and Oscar's next year!!!
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Sorry - had to throw Dead Man out there ;) I freakin dug that weird ass movie (I need an Indian buddy named Nobody to help me scalp some fuckers here at work).
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Jan 22, 2009 2:36:21 PM CST
why the fuck are people saying Wall-E was robbed?
by dannyglovers_dickblood
There is an Animation category for a fucking reason. You think the Academy can just pick which animated film is really really extra special good and transcends the Animation category for Best Picture territory? I don't get it. Why make the fucking category if it means jack shit.....if anything they need to get rid of one of the Sound awards and make BEST STUNTS so Jason Statham can finally get a fucking Oscar.
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Its a three-way tie between Chloë Sevigny, Coughlins Laws, and Shia LeBeouf.
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Am I the only one who doesn't have much desire to sit through this?
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is my favourite part, especially as he begins by obscurely narrating the closing seconds of the movie and the thoughts running through Blake's then moving from inquisitive to angry, vindictive and finally grave. Essentially Microcosming the entire movie into a 3 minute exchange before summing up the horror of it all by pointing out the buffalo in an almost angel of doom sort of way.
I got a lot of time for that film. -
in The Brown Bunny.
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His presence in the entire film was completely benign. Brad Pitt could only do so much with that character and most of it was superficial.
On another note I do think Wall-E deserves a fighting chance outside of the animation category. Unfortunatley the acadmey's attitude towards animation is the same as it is to comedy, neither are considered as compelling as drama. -
It's not about how many cocks you suck, it's about WHO you suck off.
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Benjamin Button had no personality and life in the film. He's such a dull character. That's the big problem I had. Pitt was good, but imo, not good enough for an Oscar nom.
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having no personality is this: The guy was born an old man, and feels like an outsider. He becomes an introvert because of this. Not being accepted, but basically being raised with love. Thus, he is a quiet, introspective person. He's not supposed to have a grand personality.
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Its a combination between WHO and HOW GOOD. The Berg gets his dick sucked at least 5 times a week by random assistants looking for a promotion or actors looking for a gig. He's seen 'em all. Shia struck a chord with him because of his skills. Lets just say he doesn't shy away from the salt and vinegar taste of a 60 year old man's asshole. That smug, smart-ass loudmouth he's so good at playing, thats no act man. He is confident with the cock and not afraid to say so.
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you know I used to have Oscar parties and make a big deal about the Academy Awards, but the past few years I've stopped and this year I'm just not even going to give them the time of fucking day, (yeah I'm pissed Nolan and Dark Knight got snubbed- THE READER- WTF!!!!??????) BOYCOTT THE OSCARS BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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you guys wouldve rode Miss Daisy HArd
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...that a Stunt Oscar would be a great idea. Stuntpeople risk their life pretty much every day and stunt coordinators have a shitload of work to do, to make any kind of stunt look impressive. Doesn't matter if it's in a comedy, your typical brain-out actioner or a oscar baiting war epic. But all they got is that awards ceremony that is sponsored by Red Bull. So yes, an Oscar category for Best Stunt Work would be cool.
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Jan 22, 2009 2:53:53 PM CST
Ben Button wasn't supposed to be the life of the party..
by six demon bag
in every scene with people "his own age" (in NY) hes an outsider. hes comfortable in the old age home and on the boat and with people older than him (Tilda) and with Cate
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It's a good one though.
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Danny has me convinced that Shia would win...
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His character has to deal with quite a bit, and has a strange, interesting life. The power of the movie, to me, is seeing an inexperienced young man experience the world, fall in love for the first time, get drunk etc, with the exterior of a well traveled old man. And on the other side, seeing a 20 year old who is actually a 65 year old man with all of these experiences. Pitt plays it wonderfully. I dunno. There is a strange, uncanny emotional thread running through that film that is very distinctive to Fincher, and not Gumpian in the least. And also, I would like to add, not in the least "Oscar bait." It seems to me that everyone on here hates the movie, and I think i'd just like to say it's worth another look. I'm going to check out TDK again this weekend to see if I just misjudged it as superficial and awkwardly constructed and plotted. I might have been wrong. Button's worth another look in my opinion.
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Being looked at as a freak would make anyone feel lifeless and completely alone. And by the time he ages to be more normal, he still has the introverted personality that he grew up with b/c of feeling alien. Daisy gives him a spark, but I thought the script did a good job of keeping him calm and somewhat introspective because that's who he is deep inside. Basically, they made him have a bland personality because they were being true to the character.
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When I saw it already in Forrest Gump?
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.....I think it is appropriate for them to have a BEST STUNTS. Not like one single stunt but for the stunt-team on the film with the best overall physical stunts of the year. Why not? They are on screen performers doing things that are just as amazing as any visual effects nerd. They need to be acknowledge as well. There are some stunt people that have been pushing for this for years.
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Ron Howard has never been politically active before, like many of his peers have been. But, when Ron Howard had a movie about evil NIXON coming out, it was time to kiss a bunch of Hollywood Dem ass. For the publicity, but ESPECIALLY for awards season. The noms are his reward. The people affiliated with Batman obviously didn't kiss enough Obama ass.
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...and if you're going to use your hand while you blow-- please go with the same rhythm of the head bob. Nothing worse than two clashing motions tugging your dick in different directions.
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The Jason Statham-comment made it sound sarcastic. :) But yes, I 100% agree about the stunt Oscar.
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Yes. " No Country for Old Men "/ " There Will Be Blood " - greatest films since Apocalypse Now.
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Frank Pierson, the academy's president, announced last week that its board of governors rejected a proposal to create a new Oscar category to honor stunt performers. As the academy is ''more focused on reduction than addition," Pierson said, ''the board is simply not prepared to institute any new awards categories."
Such logic didn't stop the academy from adding a best animated feature film category in 2000. Still, anyone who has slogged through one of those interminable Oscar telecasts wouldn't mind seeing the ceremonies trimmed to, perhaps, a maximum of three hours, and even that's pushing it. Yet it would make more sense to eliminate such fat as the usually dull musical numbers -- c'mon, people, did this year's show really need Beyonce performing three of the five nominated songs? -- than to continue to deny recognition to men and women creating some of the most indelible moments in film history.
Filmmakers and actors, including Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Jerry Bruckheimer, and Steven Spielberg, supported the proposal submitted by several stunt performers' organizations for a best stunt coordinator category. A statement on the Stunts Unlimited website, representing stuntmen, coordinators, and action directors, laments stunt performers going ''unnoticed and unrewarded" by the academy. And there's also the hard-to-argue contention that stuntmen and stuntwomen ''are the only faction of the movie industry that must literally risk their lives for the sake of their art."
Those who are willing to leap from buildings, be set on fire, or maneuver careering cars through traffic during a high-speed chase -- and do so to make some much-better-compensated famous face look good -- deserve more than a shrug from the academy.
It's summer, the time when filmmakers are more concerned with spectacle than intellectually salient and serious movies, and thus the high season for stunt performers. Even with the prevalence of CGI -- computer-generated imagery -- some of the best stunts are still performed by actual people. And for all the wonders of CGI, more often than not it can make movies look like the video games they will eventually become.
In 1960, ''Ben-Hur" swept the Academy Awards, winning 11 Oscars, including best picture, best actor (Charlton Heston), and best director (William Wyler). Yet what most people remember about this biblical epic is the dramatic chariot race between Heston's Judah Ben-Hur and his friend-turned-rival Messala, played by Stephen Boyd. Of course, we see Heston and Boyd only in close-ups, while their stunt doubles do all the real work, which was plotted and choreographed for two years by legendary stuntman Yakima Canutt.
Yet while the film received an award for best special effects, neither Canutt nor his stunt teams received any academy recognition for what remains one of the greatest action scenes in motion picture history. (Canutt was given a special citation in 1960 for his direction of the chariot race by the National Board of Review; in 1966, he received an honorary Oscar for ''achievements as a stuntman and for developing safety devices to protect stuntmen everywhere.")
Nearly 50 years later, the academy is still deluding itself into believing that stunt people aren't a vital, necessary part of the film community. At next year's ceremony, count just how many fantastic stunts -- whether it's the white-knuckle car chase from ''The French Connection" or Steve McQueen's iconic motorcycle jump in ''The Great Escape," actually performed by stuntman Bud Ekins -- are included in all those lengthy hooray-for-Hollywood montages.
When it comes to self-congratulations, Hollywood understands just how important those amazing scenes are, yet when it's time to honor the people who plan and execute them, the academy is unwilling to acknowledge their irreplaceable contributions. If, as the Academy Awards like to trumpet every year, their much-ballyhooed night is about celebrating the creativity, the spirit, and especially the magic of the movie industry, then it's time for adequate and respectful recognition for some of their most unheralded magicians.
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whereas Gump took the saccharine and sappy way to overdramatise every scene, Button never reaches that point...just when you fear the cliches are coming Fincher restrains himself from manipulating the audience. Still haven't found a flaw yet? C'mon guys, you've been bitchin all day and have come up with nuthin!
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I, LIKE, CAN'T BELIEVE MAMMA MIA DIDN'T GET A NOD! IT MADE ALMOST $600 MILLION AT THE BOX OFFICE! THAT'S QUALITY! OHMAGAWD!
Jesus H... All you people frothing at the mouth over TDK need to take a look in the mirror. Which isn't to say TDK is a bad movie, but get real. A film's box office is in no way an indication of its quality. Slumdog is a fantastic flick and it's great to see Danny Boyle FINALLY get some recognition. -
But Obama is a fan of the Batman. If it were up to him, ' The Reader ' would fucking GO TO HELL !!!!!
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After being on set for a few shoots and after reading a few prelim reports from screenings (this site's included), I can say that Bale isnt going to be what all the buzz is about in that movie. You'll see. And white he didnt single handedly ruin TDK's chances at a best pic nom, I can pretty much safely assume that his performance didnt help to get one. At all.
That being said, Marion Cotillard is jaw-droppingly gorgeous in person. -
A damn shame...
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Kate Winslet's shameless quest for an Oscar is really terrible. First of all, she is an average actress most of the time (I'm always aware of her acting, and it's not because she's pulling some Brechtian shit or anything). And Benjamin Button may be one of the most well-made films of the year, but there is a lot wrong with it. It never gets its own logic right, it introduces the clockmaker only to have him disappear completely and be only tangentially related to the story, the movie spends 2 hours of its run time with Benjamin up to the age of 40, then 30 minutes for the rest of his life, etc. Without the reverse age gimmick, Benjamin Button wouldn't be talked about at all. Blanchett was good in it, though.
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Jan 22, 2009 3:09:15 PM CST
Yeah, it's a shame. I hope they add Stunt Oscars in 2010
by derlanghaarige
Stuntpeople ARE the unsung heroes of Hollywood. In a perfect world, stunt coordinators AND performers would be named in the opening credits, between the FX supervisor and the guy who did the Make Up, and not just buried somewhere in the end credits. And THEY should get the 20 Millions per movie and not the actors.
I wanted to be stuntman as a kid, but it turned out that I'm way too scared to jump off high buildings and through windows. -
FUCK the dark Knight!!!!!!!
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All I can say is: Wall-E, um what screenplay, it only had 5 spoken lines. it would have read like: retarded robot looks at garbage, things blow up, people chase it, aww it fell in love, hey check out all the fat people, lol, oh look, there was always grass, the end.
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Nice name. I saw them in Atlanta this summer and they played both Kid A and Idioteque... Great show.
Spielberg needs to get his ass in gear and quit making popcorn crap. Go back to stuff like Munich, Private Ryan, etc... -
What are you refereing to as being "buzz" worthy. Is it on the directing or acting end?
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ripping-off his own Gump screenplay. Fuck the "It's a different tone" bullshit! It's the same goaddamn movie. Why don't they get it over with and call the drunken seacaptain Lt. Dan.
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Nobody is saying Slumdog or Danny Boyle should not have been nominated (maybe someone has, but I am not going to read every talkback comment). I think most are pissed about Benjamin Button or the Reader being nominated over Dark Knight, neither of which is as good.
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In the director's cut, Ben Button says "She smelled like cigarettes" to the boat captain, referring to the prostitute in town.
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Jan 22, 2009 3:17:49 PM CST
I thought INDY IV was robbed by The Razzies....
by dannyglovers_dickblood
...because it wasn't nominated for Worst Picture of the Year. But then I found out its getting a special honor!! WORST PREQUEL, REMAKE, RIP-OFF OR SEQUEL: INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL -
Directing and acting both...I shouldve been more specific. The film will be amazing; but Bale will still be..well Bale. His character isnt developed and he doesnt put much into the scenes that he does have. Very cardboard. Depp, however, is amazing. Not that he ever isnt.
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at least compared to last year. I saw a fair amount of movies this year but hardly any of the top reviewed ones (like these best pic nominees) seemed really interesting to me - just sort of middle brow. None of these movies really wanted to challenge anyone - well maybe the reader but I haven't seen it.. If Benjamin Button wins best picture it will be remembered much like forest gump - a sentimental mistake. What makes it eerie, if it wins, is how closely the film was modeled after Gump. It was a nice enough night at the movies, but after, I had to pry it's hands off my pant-leg. I only saw three of the five documentary nominations (man on wire, werner herzog on ice, and trouble the water) but all three were better than Benjamin Button. Why don't they just rename best picture "best narrative picture"? Dark Knight was good and suspenseful, with some interesting plot turns and a great performance by Ledger, but somehow Bale and Nolan made batman bland and uninteresting. Didn't seem like a best picture to me but I think it'd fit right in with this bunch.
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I've never seen so many movie nerds outraged that their favorite film didn't get nominated. It's not like any of you have a serious stake in the film. If you were like, "I busted my ass all day long as a key grip on The Dark Knight, and we didn't even get a best picture nomination?! Aw hell no!" Then maybe I could sympathize with you, but whether TDK got a nomination or not wouldn't have any affect on me at all. I guess the Oscars are like The Superbowl for movie geeks, and today is the day you found out that your favorite team got eliminated from the playoffs. Too funny.
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Jews run hooywood so you guys shouldn't be surprized.
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The Love Guru will sweep the Razzies:
Worst Picture
Worst Actor, Mike Myers
Worst Supporting Actor, Verne Troyer
Worst Supporting Actress, Jessica Alba
Worst Screenplay, Mike Myers
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I really like Michael Mann and feel that his films this decade have been okay, but I'm more impressed with his 90's output. I'm hoping that Public Enemies can stand beside Last of the Mohicans, Heat, and the Insider.
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Of an animated movie to ever be nominated again for Best Picture. Enjoy your place in history Beauty and the Beast.
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Obviously Shawshank was the winner that year, or even Pulp arguably, but any one of those three would (I hope) landslide any other year in which they were nominated on their own. (Think Shawshank THIS year). Man, that was the year of Ed Wood!
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Its all politics and bleeding heart bullshit. Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, and Sean Penn will always be nominated because they are such "good" people. They let Ledger get nominated because they felt sorry for him. They nominate films that support their world view. And yes the actors and movies on this list deserved to get nominated but so did Nolan and Eastwood and a dozen other people and movies. The Oscars arent relevant anymore...they are basically for Hollywood to feel good about themselves nothing else.
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I love that the guy scolding everyone for getting too attached to The Dark Knight has the username The_joker.
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by NOT being nominated. I mean, who is really shocked by this? F the Academy! Period pieces and gayness...
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Or is he too sensitive?
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Look, just because your favorite film didn't get nominated doesn't mean that you should hate on the films that were. Slumdog has a legitimate shot at becoming a classic. Milk hits all the bio grace notes but rises above them to become something special, and is very much a movie of it's times. It's a race between Slumdog and Button, and I hope the latter wasn't able to pull the "epic" card, because it's just not moving enough.
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But I was wondering what the hell he was doing attached to Hancock. He almost directed it, but let his protege (Berg) do the honor. Thank God... Is Hancock nominated for a Razzie? If not, it needs to be.
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Dammit.
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For all of the Obama ball licking that will occur. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets a honorary Oscar.
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I think Gladiator was much better than The Dark Knight. I was emotionally involved in the story. It's not perfect, and it is Braveheart in Rome as you say. But as a piece of filmmaking it is much better than The Dark Knight, mainly because Ridley Scott is a much more talented artist than Christopher Nolan. The Dark Knight to me was like somebody trying to copy a Michael Mann film. It was flat and uninvolving. I know the comic book fans are happy because the subject matter is being taken seriously but that does not make it a great piece of cinema.
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You think Batman's "do anything to stop a terrorist" approach turned Hollywood away from nominating it for best pic? I mean it pretty much defended Bush's policy of breaking civil laws for the common good. Their was no other way to stop The Joker.
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I love Mann too, what the hell is he doing having Berg hanging around. I'm dreading his version of my life story, Dune.
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I think he takes his career very seriously and he wants to succeed once again. He just doesn't know how.
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I sat behind Spinotti and watched Depp come out of the Biograph over and over again for about three hours to get probably 6 or 7 minutes worth of film (picture the Jennifer Connelly shot in Requiem with the camera mounted to her chest as she leaves the "party" - same style and look, but much smoother). To say Mann is a perfectionist would be an understatement, so his inconsistency will always baffle me.
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I think the snub is more to do with it not being a great film myself.
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From the guy who was the EXECUTIVE PRODUCER of the TV show, he couldn't even put the theme music in it let alone anything else resembling it other than the names Crockett and Tubbs.
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My reading comprehension skills are slipping. Are the Best Pic noms a travesty because the Dark Knight wasn't included? Is that what we're to assume? You gotta be fuckin' kidding if you thought a Batman movie would get best pic. It was a really good comic book movie, but nothing more. It took interesting themes but still presented them in a simplistic comic book way--not Oscar stuff no matter how much dough it raked in. In other words, it was really good within the confines of the genre. And that's about it. I'd have had nothing really against DK getting a best pic nod, but it definitely would have made me laugh a bit. And it not being nominated is FAR from being an "absolute travesty." Jesus!
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Still mad that it didn't get more noms. It was nice to see Shannon get one. He's becoming a very good supporting actor in the last several years. The Reader over Revolutionary Road is shit. I can't really say I'm disappointed in the academy considering it's been shit the last few years anyway. Oh well, at least I'll know Revolutionary Road was better than The Reader...and Slumdog Millionaire for that matter.
Leo's best performance of his career isn't even recognized. It's a shame.
I agree with someone else who mentioned SDM. It's gonna be one of those that in 5 years from now, everyone will go, "Um, wait, what did we do?!?!" LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL is a good example.
Oh well. -
What inconsistency?
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I think Berg is talented, he just needs to lend his talents to stuff like The Kingdom, not a steaming pile like Hancock.
Yeah, Myers won't show up. He's a notorious egomaniac. He just hides it from the public. -
Great to see him back with Mann.
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Nah, I was talking about Winslet. I don't know how to create spaces for separate paragraphs, so I just went straight into my thoughts on Benjamin Button. I like Blanchett quite a lot.
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while i don't think TDK would have won best picture, it defenetly deserved to get a nomination, as it was obviously one of the top 5 films of last year. Nolan sure as hell deserved not only a best director nom, but the actual award itself, TDK is beautifully directed and shows a real skillalso, i'm gonna play devil's advocate here and say fuck slumdog Millionaire, in all my years on earth i have not seen a movie that i hated more then that over pretentious piece of shit, the fact that everyone is sucking this movies cock just pisses me off to no endif it win best picture then hollywood is lost to mealso go Ledger, Glad to see Downy nominated, but it should have been for best actor and it should have been for iron man
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You see Mann freak out?
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changing or industry changing film. It was a sequel to Batman Begins. Sure Ledger is great in it but if he hadn't died the box office take would have been less. Plus it's the JOKER. Never underestimate the popularity of the Joker. If it had been the same movie with a different Batman villain who hadn't been used before (say Mr. Zsaz was upped from his brief cameo from Begins) it would have made less.
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space like this
but with no space between p and the >'s -
Soon there will be a lot of basements free, i smell plenty fanboy suicides.
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I don't know how anyone that has seen her work in Eternal Sunshine can say she's not a very good actor. She is fucking amazing in that film. Blanchett on the other hand always feels like she is really trying too hard. But they're both fine as fuck for what its worth.
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Among four blockbuster/populist films that WERE nominated for Best Picture and The Dark Knight. Pick the Best Picture winner: Jaws, Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Ghost and The Dark Knight.
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Manhunter - Great
Last of the Mohicans - Amazing
Heat - Amazing
The Insider - Good
Ali - Good
Collateral - Good
Miami Vice - Wtf??
Public Enemies - TBD
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First three were sick...followed by average to above average films. It's disappointing, I guess, to see a guy do something amazing and follow it up with something less than that. Good news with Mann though, even his "less than that" is still better than 90% of Hollywood's average. -
There is the Taurus Award that has been around for about 5 years. It's been televised on Spike.
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So bad it's not even on DVD. Still I'd buy it for the excellent cinematography.
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Michael Shannon was all kinds of awesome in Revolutionary Road - he almost stole the movie. I'd pick Ledger over him because he was just as good, if not better, and his role was more substantial (more of a co-lead, really). But I can definitely see the academy types picking Shannon.
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May sound cliche, but I'd have to choose the one that started it all (the pop culture super-blockbuster)..."Jaws". Still holds up beautifully all these years later.
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Remember Eddie Murphy was also supposed to win for Dreamgirls, another movie that didn't get nominated for best picture (rightfully so, it was terrible).
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The film is not about the clockmaker..he made the clock which happens to tell time bacwards...which coincidentally is how Benjamin ages. If you have ever been around anybody on their deathbed, you would know that there are some tangent stories floating around. Daisy was sating this in passing, then started talking about Benjamin
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Academy members fuckin dropped the ball
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This is like the 2nd nomination out of like 30 that he's been nominated. Plus, he's a newcomer and we know how that is with the Academy. I'm sure he's great, but no. I would put my life savings on Ledger to win. Brolin will be a distant second...
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Jan 22, 2009 3:59:03 PM CST
For anyone doubting Mann's genius see Thief
by i_am_not_the_droid_you_are_looking_for
Fucking awesome flick. Caan is great in it.
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they wont't be critical successes but they'll make him money. he rocked in 54 tho.
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I mean, they actually made Indy look so almost mid-50's again instead of almost 70. Fuck Benjamin Buttass. That was some real movie magic. And, unfortunately, the only "magic" in that entire movie.
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Obviously based on my name. Raiders is the perfect movie. It blends so many genres successfully.
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I say Jaws also. I've seen it like 20 times.
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....I am actually surprised its not nominated for effects or sound.
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TDK fans can come over to my house and I'll have some nice cyanide spiked fruit punch for us all to drink.
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TDK one of the best films of all time was never going to get best pic so why nominate it? The five other films (and the industry as a whole) needs the cash a TDK win would take away. TDK is still one of the best films of all time so I simply don't care.
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its the 1st time he hasnt been nomd in a looooong time
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I just never get tired of that movie. The acting is great, the story is well written. The music incomparably kicks ass. I really dig Jaws. It was one of the first DVDs I ever bought. I woudl even concede that on a per person basis, the acting is superior to Raiders. But the writing, in my opinion, isn't quite as good as Raiders and the music not as thoroughly engaging, though the geneal Jaws theme parts (beyond just the "Dah-dum! Dah-dum!" stuff) is damn good.
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Glad the academy didn't fall for the fanboy hysteria on what is an occasionally excellent but overall muddled and overlong film with an unbalancing 'support' that doesn't really take off till the jail cell.
But where the hell is Hellboy's SFX nomination? Couldn't the old geezers make it to that film as they tick boxed down the overrated Benjamin Button? As for Streep - did they mean to say Scott Thomas? Eddie Marsan was also robbed and is the only one of that lot that then would have deservedly beaten Ledger.
Thank heavens Jenkins and Leo bring some common sense to the nominations outwith the cliched little clique that had built up. -
Because the old man has lost it. I don't know what else he scored that came out in 2008, but Indy IV blew.
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I'm not sure if Vegas still does Oscar betting, but they used to. If they do I bet they have Ledger at 1 to 5 odds, meaning that if you put $500 on him to win, you would win $100. I thought about betting on Helen Mirren for The Queen, but I wasn't in Vegas. That was easy money. She was a lock that year.
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Where's his fucking nomination?! You want to bitch about something, bitch about that. Also, Ralph Fiennes for In Bruges. The supporting actor category was stacked this year.
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Jan 22, 2009 4:13:48 PM CST
Ledger is 1-10 on Paddypower.com
by i_am_not_the_droid_you_are_looking_for
A UK bookie.
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If he'd only had the good sense to overdose on prescription medication. Hollywood loves dead people. Or have you forgotten about the In Memoriam popularity contest they do every year?
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can suck Sean Penn's cock. Sorry, I hadn't brought up Sean Penn in ten minutes...
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garbageman - that's pretty low.
matt - nice one -
So eat it KOTCS haters. It even has one for Best Single Effect for, *gasp*, the "Valley Destruction." http://tinyurl.com/9289ue
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rapists
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put together our own Oscars, but with nominations similar to the MTV Awards? Like best gunfight..Best catchphrase..Best representation of an animal in CGI...Most creative use of profanity...
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Its just the stench of Indy IV is so foul it can even destroy the most talented people in cinema. Seriously....how the fuck do you make the Raiders March sound shitty?!! It never once sounded cool because the visuals accompanying the tune looked like dogshit. Poor Johnny. Its okay-- he'll rebound with Lincoln.
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Get your fucking act together and create a proper voting system on-line on your website and let your readership vote for the Ain't it cool news "Oscars"
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without a budget and a good screenplay, he wouldn't be shit.
also, frank langella's "nixon voice-face" is laughably distracting. -
His Obama worship piece was rotten. The introitus was stolen wholesale from HALO for christ sakes and the rest was a plaguerised lift from Lord of the Dance.
Bad AIDS john.....Bad AIDS. -
it was so bad, it ruined everything else he did in 2008. Good theory. though, I really don't think Williams' compositions are as novel or exciting as they were 10+ years ago.
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The power of McWeeny compels you! The power of McWeeny compels you! The power of McWeeny compels you! The power of McWeeny compels you!
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Wouldn't it be great if thousands of TDK fans showed up and protested outside the red carpet and the ceremony.
After all, it's we comic nerds that have kept Hollywood afloat for the last decade, with one comic book film after another. It's time to push for a little payback.
I haven't watched this shit in a decade, and I won't now. -
The Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban score is amazing.
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Where's his DVD column that he said he was "working" on during the inauguration? He'll have some lame excuse prefacing the column like he always does to make it sound like it's the first time it's ever been late, "Hey folks, Harry here. Sorry the column is late but it's been a hectic week this week. Since Obama got sworn in I haven't been able to stop masturbating. I'm sure you understand. Yoko is threatening to leave me if I don't get a film career going soon so I've been busy calling some chums to see if they can help a fatty out. Anyway, the links go to Amazon like always. I've even included some shitty movies I don't recommend but buy them anyway." Only with more grammatical errors.
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Are just repeating the bullshit they read on a message board. The movie is in no way similar to "Forest Gump". Just because we see the life Button has traveled, doesn't make it similar. Button did not go through several decades and alter American history with his actions. It was a simple story about a man who was born old and alone. He grows up acting like an old man, therefore he doesn't have some oversized personality. The music is subtle and memorable. And while Brad didn't bring it (I agree that Leo deserved a nod more) the movie wasn't shit. People on AICN give it hell because it's a 2 and a half hour movie that is about a romance. Its funny to see people bitch about it or discredit it then complain TDK deserved every award in history. TDK was a great film, but really, not being nominated isn't going to make Nolan or Bale or WB cry a river. They are all still filthy rich. And at least "Heathus" was nominated (and will win).
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both Catch Me if You Can and Terminal are good in my opinion, as well as HP3, Indy 4 score isnt as good as the others, but c'mon those are high standards
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Forrest Gump. Slow, yes. Retarded, maybe. Braces on his legs. But he charmed the pants off Nixon and won a ping-pong competition. That ain't retarded.
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Just announced it already. God dang it the Oscar's are boring and predictable!
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when you talk shit you have to back it up
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I had an iota of hope for TDK getting a nom for best pic, but I sorta figured this would happen...
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Cate Blanchett was miscast... terrible.
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... is the same reason that i have no interest in seeing slumdog millionaire - the academy members had DK pushed in their faces and were told that they have to nominate it, theyd be nuts not to - like ive had slumdog pushed in my face every time i read a paper or watch tv or go online being told i have to see this, its the best movie ever - i will never see it - i have no interest whatsoever in seeing it - a movie whos central plot device is a tv show that i cant stand - no thanks - my sentiments are mirrored by academy members that have an aversion to batman or superhero movies - just a theory - as great as DK is, its still just a batman movie to a whole lot of people
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... a new story into an old screenplay - forrest gump
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I just don't understand how the Academy could nominate all 3 Lord of the Rings movies, but snub The Dark Knight.
Before the LOTR noms, people thought fantasy films could never be taken seriously by the Academy. So why not honor a film (TDK) that did for comic book movies what LOTR did for fantasy?
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SOOOOO SOOOO deserves to win. Thank god that Wrestler/Streets of Philadelphia/Dead Man Walking Song didn't get a nom.
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IM SORRY if the film was too serious for you...how was blanchett miscast...she's perfect as is Brad Pitt. who would you had?
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Great, great film. Hope it wins.
The Class was good, but not worthy of oscar nomination. -
IM SORRY if the film was too serious for you...how was blanchett miscast...she's perfect as is Brad Pitt. who would you had?
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Enjoy!!!
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/1d76506803/the-curious-case-of-forrest-gump-from-fgump44 -
so i cant say that i hate it - i can safely say from what ive seen and read of it, it would bore me - just the trailers alone bore me
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Is going to walk away with the most Oscars.
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sorry...you probably complain too that Frank Darabont jsut makes Stephen King Prison flicks..what Eric Roth was adapted faithfully..the stories of two mens' lives...get over yourself
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THAT's the ticket this year to Oscar glory. *roll eyes*
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i'm done with you
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You are 100% right about the people calling it "Forest Gump 2." It was nothing like Gump at all, I'd call it the anti-Gump.
How did Pitt get nominated? He wasn't awful, it's just the character wasn't interesting only his situation. No way he wins anyway, Penn has it on lock. -
is because it's technically the sixth film and a sequel to a reboot that didn't get nominated either.
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... because its about pro wrestling - if any movie deserved a best pic nom its the wrestler - if it was the same movie but about a washed up boxer, or football player it wouldve been nominated
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i agree - and its a batman movie
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when did we ever start?
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How does the Academy love fantasy? When Lord of the Rings was nominated everyone was saying how fantasy films DON'T get nominated. The Academy loved Lord of the Rings, not fantasy in general. And if anyone couldn't see that FOTR and TT were token nominations so ROTK could get the Best Picture award in order to reward the entire trilogy for being a successful adaptation of something believed to be unfilmable is a retard.
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Jan 22, 2009 5:36:45 PM CST
the wrestler - all the pathos, romance and tragedy...
by jimmyjoe redsky
... of benjamin button - but in a tighter shorter package - and minus the syrup
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Jan 22, 2009 5:39:11 PM CST
I think the only way a comic book movie will be nominated
by indycollector
for Best Picture is if it isn't a mainstream super-hero movie. It would have to be an adaptation of something abstract like Watchmen (and don't tell me Watchmen is well-known. Go ask a non comic reader what Watchmen is. At best they'll say, "Oh it's a movie coming out soon.") or American Splendor.
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The Academy might not "love" fantasy as I said in my title, but on the other hand, they did honor a fantasy trilogy. Before Fellowship's nom, everyone considered fantasy to be anathema to the academy. Arguably, TDK is the current pinnacle of comic book films the same way that the LOTR trilogy represented a pinnacle in fantasy filmmaking. So why honor the LOTR trilogy, but not TDK, which "legitimized" comic book movies in the same way that LOTR did for fantasy?
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i love frank darabonts stephen king prison flicks - get over your own self - can you think of any movie that you havent seen but have no interest in seeing? - fill in the blank - i like fincher - i like pitt - i even liked the short story the movie was based on - but if im not interested in seeing this version of that story - maybe ill rent it
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Heather Ledger's incredible performance aside, natch...and if he doesn't win, I'll happily commiserate.
It seems that the Academy was just as unimpressed with the cornball ferry resolution as yours truly. Good. -
not far enough. Even something like Watchmen or Sandman would be too comic booky for the Academy. You would need something like Ghost World or History of Violence, where 90% of people have no idea it's based on a comic.
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Jan 22, 2009 5:46:55 PM CST
Rindain - Why does TDK get the acclaim for legitimizing comic bo
by indycollector
I think Superman: The Movie gets that honor. Or at least Spider-Man if you have to go with something more recent. TDK is a great BATMAN movie. It's was proven that comic book films can be good AND successful a long time ago.
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watchmen is darker and rated r - its the anti superhero movie - it should be considered (even having not seen it, im assuming its great) but it will be overlooked - also, superhero movies are a staple now - people are sick of them no matter how great some are (DK, HB2, IRONMAN)
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That, and the always incestous Animated Feature Film threeway between Disney/Pixar and Dreamworks.
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That affected me more than any other movie this year. By the end, I felt like I truly knew that character. Unlike Benjamin Button. By the end of that, all I knew about him was that he aged in reverse. And that he had some sort of weird hummingbird fixation.
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you know not what you speak of. did you not see the wrestler too? you Do know this is a movie site, right?
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maybe almost as corny as a movie about a kid that wins a game show in order to find a girl he has a crush on - or a love story about an old baby that grows up to be a sad brad pitt who goes on adventures all the while pining for the girl he let slip away
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No Eastwood? No Dark Knight?!
FUCK SEAN PENN and the fucking Milk, which will never be seen by me. Assholes.
Rourke was good, the movies was meh; shitty camera work and mostly pointless scenes...Rourke was gold though...but Eastwood should have been thrown a bone..If Paul Newman could win for a shit movie like "Color of Money" why not give to Clint? I hate the Oscars! -
That one scene tells you more about Mickey Rourke's character than two and a half hours of Benjamin Button tells you about Brad Pitt's.
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huh? - yes - i saw the wrestler - i liked it a lot - but wow what a bummer - it felt very real - answering your question, yes - i know this is a movie sight - thats why im discussing movies and giving my opinion - which really seems to bug the shit out of you - you asked why so many hate BB - i answered that i dont hate it, but havent seen it and im not eager to - you then had a hissy and said you were "done with me" - go grow a pair - wait... ar you a chick?
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plot holes, and, hearkening back to the crap 90's Bat films, the protagonist Batman was shafted in screen time and character development. And, that suit -- horrible. Can't wait for this trilogy to finish, so we can ditch the realistic-esque milieu. Batman needs balance between the serious and the fantastic.
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I don't see why the Dark Knight wasn't nominated, "Star Wars" and "Raiders", cut from the same mass-appeal cloth and instant classics like TDK, were both nominated in their years of release...it's snobbery of the worst kind, if you can't recognize a good film, no matter what genre it's in, you have no business voting and definitely no business making movies.
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I don't know if it's good or bad but the Oscar songs of recently years are basically songs no one hears outside of the film. Where are the Eye of the Tigers or The Power of Loves or the Disney songs redone by musicians for radio play or the Ghostbusters, etc.
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O.k. I'll tell you why I don't like Button. Bear in mind that I have no problems with the film technically; it's the narrative that I dislike.1) The central conceit - our protagonist's aging backward - has virtually nothing to do with the story. Yes, his father abandons him because he looks different, but lots of children are abandoned for whatever reason. After that, what happens in Benjamin's life that is inherently linked in any way to his condition and its limiting nature? His emotional, mental, and psychological aging are all right on schedule. Yeah, he's raised in a nursing home, but no one gives him a second look. He leaves home at the age any normal person leaves home. He might get a second look and a little skepticism, but he gets a job (and even goes to war!) like any young man would. He even ends up back in the nursing home; how is that destination any different than how a normal person's life would go? Give me at least one interesting scene in which Benjamin is forced to try to fit in with those who look like him but it doesn't work because of his real age. (See more on this in point #2.) Hell, there's nothing even that unusual about having a tryst with the older Tilda Swinton's character at that age. Basically, I'm left with the message that aging backward doesn't make any difference; you're still the same on the inside. What uncanny insight!2) The film completely lost me at the third act mark. Benjamin's decision to leave Daisy and his daughter is unsympathetic and bewildering. Daisy wouldn't be "raising" him; he has an adult mind. And as she says, we all end up in diapers. Benjamin had at least another 20 good years he could have spent with his daughter without drawing serious scrutiny. Even when appearances become tricky, make up a story and tell your daughter her dad is special and that she needs to be discreet. No character has ostracized Benjamin to that point; why does he suddenly feel like he can't lead a normal life with his condition? He's been pining for this woman his entire life, and they are deeply in love. She wants to try, but - purely because the screenplay is written as it is - he must leave. MAYBE they could have convinced me this was a credible decision, if there had been a single scene in the film supporting it! Hell, have him become a true selfish jerk and suddenly embrace the shallow opportunities his young body affords him. Give me something to work with. 3) I just didn't enjoy the frame story. It took me all of two minutes to guess that she was their daughter, and then I wait two hours to discover it, as if it's some sort of major revelation. Additionally, this is a minor quibble, but I found it slightly distancing to have Daisy be the central figure in the frame story, when she really doesn't have much to do with Benjamin's story prior to their finally getting together aside from playing the role of always-out-of-reach love interest.I guess that about covers it. Just one guy's opinion.
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...great username. At least we can agree on that.
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Star Wars and Raiders were movies that hadn't been done before. Sure there were both homages to serials but done in a way that was still original. What is original about TDK? The Joker? He's been portrayed before. Definitely better in TDK but not the first time.
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Eastwood needs one for his acting, the guy's retiring, throw him a freakin bone and some respect! Besides, who the fuck is Richard Jenkins?
And fuck everything associated with "Revolutionary Road!" Could Winslet be the worst female character---ever? damn babykiller. -
When "Dances With Wolves" beats out "Goodfellas", and "Forrest Gump" beats out "Pulp Fiction" who gives two flying turds what the academy thinks.
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Jan 22, 2009 6:08:14 PM CST
ROTK won because of the political climate at the time
by jimmyjoe redsky
plus it was a great movie
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To add to that, what about Rocky beating All the President's Men and Taxi Driver? I love Rocky but that's a tough call there.
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Sure they were original, but why would that matter? Remakes have won Best Picture Oscars in the past so I must call BS on that.
"The Dark Knight" is no different from the LOTR trilogy and if those miserable little turd hobbits can win, give it to the Batman! At least he likes girls. :)
I trust no one who doesn't like "The Dark Knight."
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Would've worked much better if there was something, anything, else to it. Take Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, for example. That was a story about the end of a relationship. It showed you how they fell in love. And why the relationship ultimately failed. The brainwashing thing was only one aspect of a very rich story. Benjamin Button could've worked the same way. A love story in which the main character aging backwards almost becomes an afterthought. But the love story couldn't stand on its own. Not even close. In fact, I'd ask Six Demon Bag why Benjamin and Daisy were together in the first place. And no, "fate" is not a good enough answer.
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I'm drawing a blank.
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Ich bin der Zorn Gottes!!!!!!!!
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the reason why im done with you ( and any others) is that you shat on a film (and its writer) without having seen it. granted you can read reviews all you want and make snap judgments about lesser films that are potentially wastes of time (any generic horror film out right now or those fill-in-the-blank movies) but don't rush to judge this film...Presently, BB is without hype and pretention. I rarely see films numerous times in the theater, yet this one keeps drawing me back (3x) and I keep getting more and more enjoyment out of it. Just don't rush, i hate that shit..i asked every TB hater to explain themselves and the best was Gump 2..they oviously haven't seen Button
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It looks like now the only reason to watch will be for Sean Penn to make the usual ass of himself in a speech about making love to his favorite Dictator and how evil America, the country that provided him with all his wealth and position to speak out, is and how great Obama will be....Zzzzzzz.
On second thought, I hope there is Twilight Zone marathon on instead. -
Thanks for the spoiler, Dickweed.
Seriously. Who gets off on ruining movies for other people? There is a special level of hell for those who spoil films because they think it's cool or something. They share that level with the drivers who don't understand merge lanes.
Seriously McWaNa... have some BLEEP'n courtesy. You're among other movie lovers. And if you're not a movie lovers then why are you here? -
Daisy and Ben loved each other from the first time they met, at least in Bens eyes. BTW, you can take Eternal and view it as the start OR end of a relationship...it elliptical, which makes it cool...Kaufman is a genius
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Remakes that won were- Ben-Hur, The Departed, not as many as I thought, but still remake status is irelevant.
Network should have won in 76. Taxi Driver, too dark, but damn brilliant also. Christ! Give it to them both! -
Hugh Jackman shirtless??? Is that was flies for a Best Costume these days? He doesn't even do steroids. Sly and Arnold must be pissed.
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It's hilarious that some are actually surprised by that.
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Its embarassing how wrong they get it year in year out.
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I follow Harry's "blog" but that's about it. I just like knowing who wins and you can find that out on the Internet. I don't care about who's wearing what, stupid song and dance numbers, long and boring speeches from people I've never heard of thanking people I've never heard of, unfunny bits and repartee, political commentary that has nothing to do with the awards (Jim Carrey's "Viva El Salvador!" was the best spoof that though)
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Had no intention of ruining anything, but really I'm saving you two hours so don't worry about it. The movie is Lifetime of the Week crybaby shit.
This is what the Nominations would look like if Ben Lyons was in charge... -
Hell yeah what ever that means. I love Herzog. Man on Wire was over rated critical masturbation.
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http://www.bigempire.com/filthy/fucktheacademy.html enjoy!
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thank you for an intelligent response...i assume you've seen it. The framing device is an afterthought, just another way to cannect to the audience..for all you people complaining that Ben had no personality. You could connect with someone. With Caroline being his daughter, it could've gone either way in my opinion. The WHOLE point of the film is the aging process---otherwise it would've been told straightup! Ben is constantly being treated as something other than his age..and judged as well. When he's "old", they treat him as such, not knowing the truth. When he's in NY or taking Daisy to dinner, people are seeing that she is with not someone of her own age, but a 50 yr old. As his mother says, "We are all goin the same way, you're just taking a differnet path" Lastly, him leaving his family so he wouldn't be a burden was handled properly. Ben knowing how the world has treated him thus far, knew that it was for the best. It wouldn't be prudent anf fair for a 80 yr old taking care of and sleeping with a teenager going through senility. Goos thorough argument though...nice name too
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The magic number is three. Godfather III was nominated and Return of the King was nominated. However, Batman Forever missed it.
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Although it would have been nice to have seen Dark Knight nominated, it wasn't. That won't take away the fact that the film is great. It's not like the film's legacy is going to be lost because it never won Best Picture. Just do what I plan to do on Academy Night: Turn off the lights, pop in the Dark Knight Blu-Ray (or DVD), and experience it one more time.
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i dont need to see death race, bride wars, sex and the city, saw 7, my bloody valentine, or 4 christmases to know whether ill like them or not - i know what i need to know going in - ill admit, BB looks great - great production values, fx, costumes and set design - im just into what its about - ill tell you what, send me 12 bucks and ill go see it then write an objective unbiased review and email it to you - otherwise, climb off my sack already
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Jan 22, 2009 6:38:27 PM CST
Is Rocky the Best Picture winner with the most sequels?
by indycollector
I'm guessing so. Not many Best Picture WINNERS have sequels. The Godfather is the only other winner I can think of with sequels. Return of the King doesn't count because it didn't have a sequel. Plenty of NOMINEES have sequels though.
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Yes any intelligent person knows bride wars is shite..but can you honestly compare the 2? We're talking creme of the crop here! I wouldn't presume to talk shit about Slumdog Millionaire (yet) without seeing it..There's a big fucking difference. Form your own opinion and not just regurgitate soundbites like "GUMP 2". that's petty.
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im with you.. and the guy that just called it "lackluster". oh yeah, Daisy was a cunt of a thing.. treated him like shit in NY. im glad he left her.
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ROTK won best picture - it was the 3rd installment of a trilogy (heavily dependent on the first 2) - a 3 hour fantasy epic - wall to wall digital fx - over the top acting - were you surprised it won? - i sure was - but i also felt it deserved it - as i do TDK - aaron ekhart shouldve gotten a nom too
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That's another best picture winner with a sequel (or two, if you count that Ratner abortion "Red Dragon").
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that flub changed my whole arguement
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http://tinyurl.com/9alfm3
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Hmm. Red Dragon is a prequel, as is Hannibal Rising, but without the success of Lambs those two films wouldn't have been made so they probably have to count.
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Duh, Silence of the Lambs!
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the point is - there are defenders of movies such as bride wars etc - their opinion and taste is as valid as mine or yours - im just not into the subject matter - even if its executed brilliantly (as with BB)
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And I don't see that changing this year either.
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ive been to india - its no rainbow pastel colored urban fantasy land (at least not where i was) - the magic lens of danny boyle - india, one of the few countries where throwing acid in a womans face (for suspected cheating) is tolerated - on my trip i had to wade through a knee high river of shit to get from point a to point b - fuck it - and fuck "who wants to be a millionaire"
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Eddie was robbed, but he deserves it for making shit movies and refusing to be funny anymore. 6
yes I was surprised ROTK won which is why I'm just as surprised TDK wasn't nominated...makes no sense. -
Good God, India..what a shithole. They are a third world country for a reason- they choose to be.
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You never go full gay.
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she/he fell to her/his death "climbing into a window" - hmmm - lets just say its a good thing for eddie he/she died - eddie is doing well and making family aimed comedies - tranny hookers dot fit in that picture
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but cant still solve their "shit river" problem
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Silence of the Lambs was a Sequel. Manhunter is the original Red Dragon. Brain Cox turn down the role Hopkins got because he didn't want to get type casted, he very shortly realized his mistake.
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Have you seen Slumdog? The main character actually wades through a knee high river of shit to get from point a to point b? I don't see how its much different then your experience.
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It's obvious who didn't see the movie.
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of a respectable career later in his life. The only thing is that he seems to have willing given that away more than having been robbed of it: Vampire in Brooklyn Holy Man Metro Showtime PLUTO NASH Norbit Daddy Day Crap 1 and 2 Haunted Mansion way to whore yourself out, Eddie. No wonder people didn't give a shit about Meet Dave.
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Didn't even give a shit about Meet Dave. He didn't even show up to the opening.
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and, no, the fact that he did a shticky voice in three Shrek movies obviously doesn't make up for that list of pig shit up there.
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my interest in the Oscars just dropped to 0.
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Bwahahahaha! At least he's ware he's whoring himself out, even if it does impact his reputation.
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Behind The Adventures of Pluto Nash was ever given the chance to to make Meet Dave will be one of the biggest mysteries. Its almost like they let Renny Harlin make Cutthroat Island 2.
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Just when the Academy had to chance to increase viewership they go and fuck it up again. The Dark Knight should have been recognized for Best Picture just for its Box Office alone ...And if they were ignoring that fact and going the artistic route, then The Wrestler should have been nominated along with Bruce Springsteen. Fuck off Academy...
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Frankly, I'm surprised Ledger even got the Supporting Actor nom. Not because he wasn't fantastic in the role, just because it's the kind of movie that typically gets snubbed for all the major acting categories. I was amazed they ever recognized Depp as jack Sparrow. Be happy Ledger has a shot at an Oscar. It was the best chance DK had for an Oscar nom among the major awards and they got it.
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no voting on movies until they've been out five years. most of the winners are forgotten or ridiculed in favor of better movies that lost. Crash comes to mind.
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Brian Cox is too good for that Lector shit anyway.
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In a town that is willing to make continuouslt crappy Eddie Murphy movies, a feature length Tom & Jerry movie, Brendan Frasier goes to the Center of the Earth in 3-D, and a fucking MONOPOLY MOVIE, we need not be giving them any more piss poor ideas!
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Jan 22, 2009 7:27:59 PM CST
if they can say Gladiator and Titanic were best pictures,...
by bmacsmith
TDK could have gotten nominated. its not really a pipe dream to get a big budget movie in there.
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Way too much kneejerk reaction to films that don't hold up only a few years later, or on repeated viewings. But, then, the Oscars are really a reflection of the time in which they are awarded and 5-6 years later, sentiments may have changed alot since the time when the movie opened. I guess it depends on the criteria you judge the film/actors/wririntg/music/etc by. By the "here and now" context, or the context in which they will hold beyond when the movie first comes out and is "novel".
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But at least those ideas will make money. Eddie Murphy and sci-fi comedy does not make money.
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Wasn't nominated for best picture and it made TDK money.
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screw the oscars... and sweden for its erroneous submission of whatever-the-fuck in its place.
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some people cant get over the fact that its about Batman..if you replace every character with someone wearing carsets and victorian apparel, it would've been a shoo-in. it's like a modern day Othello. As someone posted before, you cant win them all...the fact it wasnt nominated will not diminish the fact tht it is a great film. At least we wont have to double dip DVD or Blu Ray with a new spec feature hyping the Oscar noms
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...If it was more like Forrest Gump, it might have been cheesy, contrived, ham-handed but eventful and entertaining. Instead of cheesy, ham-handed, contrived, incoherent and brutally dull. It gets my vote for worst movie of the decade. I don't think 'Dark Knight' was the best movie of the year by any means. But it deserves the nomination over Fincher's smelly mess. Fuck, 'The Incredible Hulk' was better than 'Button'. At least when I came out of 'Hulk' I felt like I wasted an afternoon on a goofy indulgence, instead of robbed of years of my life.
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Jan 22, 2009 7:37:37 PM CST
No, but Titanic and Gladiator we not the same kinf of film
by puddleglum
They came out with a reputation and full intent of being Oscar bait. Just more action oriented (more so for Gladiator). They also weren't based on a comic book, which is going to hold back a Batman film in the eyes of much of the Academy. It's not about it being a "big budget" film as much as it is the public perception of what these filsm are expected to be when released. I don't disagree that DK is a great example of film exceeding that kind of expectation. It's exactly the kind of film in the comic book/superhero sub-genre of action films that should have gotten a Best Pic nom and start breaking that perception that films like DK don't get best Pic noms. But, such is life....
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Jan 22, 2009 7:42:50 PM CST
Slumdog the favorite for best pic, but Milk has a chance.
by kid idioteque
I loved both, but aside from bitching about what WASN'T nominated, I sort of hope Milk wins. The politics were overbearing, but it's a great film. Other than Diego Luna's really creepy, unlikable character (possibly just because the performance was that bad) and one of the kids from High School Musical (if I'm not mistaken), I really enjoyed it. Although Slumdog is undeniably great. I can definitely see Boyle for best director and Milk for best picture. As much as it hurts that the Wresler didn't get nominated for best pic, and as lame as Ben Button was, the biggest crime in the last few years was the complete fucking snub of Zodiac. That was a travesty.
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Jan 22, 2009 7:44:40 PM CST
i wonder if bale's 'growl' is to blame for the snub?
by vaudeville villain
maybe the voters found it too over the top?
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Yeah I'm pretty surprised that the best film I saw last year (and judging by box office, critical reaction, and word of mouth, most of America agrees with me) wasn't nominated. I don't think you're actually shocked by this reaction though, I think you're just being an elitist jackass hoping for a "GASP! I can't believe you called it Batman VI!!!". Nothing you say is going to undermine the film. Ask ten people on the street what the best film they saw in 2008 was and I think you know what 9 out of 10 are gonna say. I'm sure that pisses you off because you apparently didn't like the film, but it doesn't change the fact that the majority of the world did.
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you're the reason Michael Bay still makes movies...jackass. Don't go see Frost/Nixon, you might learn something..
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That was my favorite film this year, far and away. What a beautiful, touching, realistic, well-acted little film.
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Not getting movie or director hopefully means Darrin will keep trying to make crazy films.
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But Ben Button made me want to dropkick a baby. BENJAMIN BUTTON IS BAD FOR AMERICA
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I'd hardly call the frame story an "afterthought." It begins and ends the film, it has the great Julia Ormond in a major role, it makes a point of playing on our emotions related to Hurricane Katrina, and there's no way that father-daughter revelation is not intended to have emotional resonance.Yes, what you are saying about how others treat him is what the movie should have shown us, but it absolutely did not show us that - at least not in any adverse manner that would have scarred Benjamin. If I'm supposed to take it at face value that very subtle age discrimination drives him to leave his wife and daughter, that's just not enough for me.For that matter, the guy was rich. He, Daisy, and the daughter could have lived life in privacy on their terms with relatively few problems. Make Daisy the adult executor of their estate when Benjamin becomes too "young" to be an adult and leave anyone that might question them to mind his or her own business.Doesn't the idea of Benjamin trying to fit in at high school as a wise old man sound intriguing? What if some social worker stuck the "seven-year-old" Benjamin in elementary school, and he was forced to interact with the other kids? The twilight of his life - when an old man who appears young might interact with those new to the world - is when it should have gotten the most interesting, and they glaze over it completely. How lonely would it be to never truly feel like you can fit in with your peers simply because you appear different? And yet, we never have any concept of this loneliness. Benjamin makes friends, has numerous lovers, and has romantic travels. Or show us the positive side. Show us what it would be like to truly take advantage of having the wisdom of knowing better and the body to take advantage of that knowledge. (That's along the lines of the age-old plight that you never have the time and money to travel until you're too old to fully enjoy it. There's a bit of this with his trip to India, but why would I care at that point when he just left his wife and child for no good reason?) Those are just a few examples of what I mean by their ignoring the central conceit. Perhaps those examples belong in a different film, but if they belong in a different film, why am I watching a movie about a character who ages backward?The only character who has any consistent truthful window into Benjamin is Daisy, and she always treats him like the age that he is. She's his touchstone, and he throws her away. I simply don't dig it.
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Your Michael Bay comment just reveals how prejudiced you are against people whose taste in films diverges from yours. I've probably seen more Tarkovsky, Kubrick, Kobayashi, Malick, Ashby, Frankenheimer, Fellini and Renoir films than you've seen trailers. And I still say 'Incredible Hulk' is a far finer film than 'Benjamin Button'. It's stupid, marginally competent junk food, but at least it does what it says on the tin. Unlike 'Button', which is a sleeping pill wrapped in a melted snickers bar that's pretending to be foie gras. I would have rather been stuck in airport security for three hours than sat through that dull, pretentious slog. I used to love Cate Blanchett. Now I want to beat her to death with a sock full of pennies ($10 worth of pennies, the price of the movie ticket.. poetic, huh?) THAT MOVIE SUCKED
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Sadly, I just missed it at the local art-house before it slipped away. :-( Prbly comin' to dvd soonish?
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...speaks the truth. I am absolutely baffled as to how many professional critics gave that turd a pass. Embarrassing.
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Maybe not win, but it should have gotten a nomination at least. If friggin' swill like Titanic can fucking win Best Picture? You gotta be kidding me. Shit, by that yardstick, TDK should not only have been nominated, but swept the whole awards.
On the brightside, tho, I suppose Ledger is a lock for Best Supporting Actor. -
Truly a bunch of pussies not nominating The Dark Knight for Best Pic or Director. They played it safe and predictable. 13 nominations for Benjamin's Belly Button? Yawn. Cowards! This was a chance to step up to the plate and recognize a genre film that broke the mold. A "comic book" movie that blew all the others that have come before it away, set a new standard for those kinds of movies and stands on it's on as one kick-ass, crime drama equal to or better than a movie such as Heat. You royally fucked up Oscar ("the grouch.") I'm sure they're patting themselves on the back for nominating Heath. While he more than deserves it for what IS truly the best performance in that category, they probably just did it as a "pity" nomination and didn't want to deal with people booing during the ceremony b/c he wasn't nominated. I have no interest in watching the Awards this year after today's disheartening news.
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That's a good question. I assumed I received that email only because I had emailed Drew personally a couple times (without response, incidentally), but I guess it was AICN data that provided the list. Regardless, I didn't really mind it.
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And no one will ever be able to tell me "Titanic" is a better film than The Dark Knight!
The porno title of 2009 is, "The Curious Case of Benjarmen's Butthole." -
all geeks to march upon the Hollywood Shrine Auditorium and burn that shit to the ground come Oscar night! This is just ridiculous. I mean...the Oscars are even due to nominate a huge populace pic...they do every 3 years. Braveheart in 95 Titanic in 98 Gladiator in 2000 Return of the King in 03...dropped the ball with a huge populace pic in 06 and 07....they were due! Dark Knight isn't good enough?! What the crap?!?! Burn that shit down!
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Slumdog Millionaire. Wall*E. The Wrestler. Let the Right One In. Teeth. The Visitor. The Fall. Burn After Reading. Synechdoche New York. I haven't seen Doubt, Revolutionary Road, or Milk, all of which have really great reviews. Personally, I preferred Iron Man to The Dark Knight, but that's not necessarily a matter of it being "better", I just liked the tone more AND felt that while it didn't reach for the same heights as TDK, it also didn't suffer from a sense of self-importance like TDK.
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Jan 22, 2009 9:09:47 PM CST
They DID grow a pair and ignored the popular choice.
by flim springfield
Popularity does not equal artistic merit.
Also- Heat didn't get nominated either, so it's probably not the best comparison. -
Superman: The Movie was blown away by TDK? Spiderman? Fuck, I'd say Darkman was at least as good as TDK.
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It just means the movie is now part of special club and will have notoriety for all time.
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Guys, relax. The Oscars are a lie unto themselves. There is no real criteria at work here- it's about ego and popularity. I yawn at the Oscars. I have more fun watching porno. A lot more fun, in fact.
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No Dark Knight for Best Picture! Finally, justice!
WALL-E was the best movie of the year. At least it'll be able to claim it got the Best Animated. TDK gets bupkis!! -
I liked it just fine, but wasn't very impressed with it... It seemed like a well made version of older films.
Also I'm really disappointed and surprised by the best pic snubs for Wrestler and Wall-E. -
haven't seen it yet, but heard it was the best vampire movie ever. which is just unexplainable.
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Jan 22, 2009 9:48:50 PM CST
Film Springfield, in 2008, popularity DID equal artistic merit.
by pennsy
And the Academy chose to ignore it (TDK). The two are not mutually exclusive. In this case, they co-existed in the same movie.
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...dressed up in pretty cinematic "gimmicks." If you take away the "gimmick" of MEMENTO being a movie that unfolds backwards like an ignorant American reading a Japanese manga, the movie has nothing really going for it. If you take away the "gimmick" of DARK KNIGHT being a realistic gritty BATMAN movie, that film really has nothing going for it either. What, are we supposed to be intrigued by the human drama that unfolds between Rachel, Bruce, and Harvey? First, you have to ask, what human drama? DARK KNIGHT was all about The Joker being The Joker. That was the gimmick, and that does not deserve it a Best Picture nom. Sorry.
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He knocked it out the park with his performance! If there is a god, gods or just Elvis watching over us, please, grant Mickey his just reward so we can all drink happily ever after!
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Granted there are a few sane people on this talkback that actually know how the world works, but I'm honestly nearly splitting my sides laughing at the people bitching about the noms and saying "This movie or that movie was much better"C'mon, fellas! When has quality EVER - EVER - been a criteria for Oscar voting?Any user on this website could probably name one film for every year they've been alive that got a nomination it didn't deserve and probably half as many films that won when they didn't deserve it. Chances are, at least 70% of people would come up with pretty much the same lists.Every year, you get the same predictable slew of "award friendly" movies released (at least in the US) between about September and December, as if the rest of the year doesn't matter. These films will always follow the same subject matter. Take your pick from true story/touchingly inspirational/classical literature/melodramatic tragedy. The winner is usually the one that combines all four.As for some people hailing Ricky Gervais as some kind of prophet for his "Holocaust movie" quip in Extras?He's not.He was just telling it like it is, like it was, like it's always been and like it always will be.The fact he said it to Kate Winslet was not a coincidence either. Let's face it, you couldn't find a single person in Hollywood more deserving of being labelled "awards whore" (unless their surname was Weinstein). Who else would he pick to say that to? The fact she agreed to appear in it speaks volumes about the fact that she knows EXACTLY what she's doing and doesn't care who else knows. The fact that she then actually went and MADE a fucking Holocaust movie goes to show just how cynical, shallow and empty the bitch really is!.The Oscars are the movie equivalent of a beauty pageant. The qualities that make a winner in either are pre-determined by the judges and the actual winner is simply the entrant who best matches those pre-determined qualities. If you offer something even slightly different, it doesn't matter how good a film/beautiful a girl you are, YOU WILL LOSE!!There are only three types of people that will EVER care about the Oscars:The people who've already won one and are greedy for moreThe people who haven't won one and who are so spiritually empty and soulless that their lives are meaningless without oneThe wonderfully naive people out there who STILL believe, despite over 60 years of evidence to the contrary, that the Oscars somehow represent an objective, meaningful appraisal of the quality of cinema in any given yearFuck the Oscars!
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Jan 22, 2009 10:00:39 PM CST
Good reviews don't necessarily equal artistic merit either.
by flim springfield
Iron Man was a great movie with great reviews as well. Do I think it should be nominated Best Picture? Heck no. It was a popcorn movie made to sell toys (not that there's anything wrong with that.) The problem is people mistake The Dark Knight's "darkness" for depth. It was a popcorn movie, too.
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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button= Gump The Remakining. No seriously watch Gump again! BB is a soapy fucking mirror reflecting a run down muffled TV set with Gump playing on it!
Frost/Nixon= Was better on TV, Generation's forget, and it becomes powerful again. When's the OJ/Goldman film coming out 10 more years from now?? Powerwise it's Certainly no Apollo 13.
Milk- Harvey Milk didn't have an effeminate gay lisp.
Also, Why aren't Gay roles being played by gay actors?
Pretending to be gay shouldn't be an easy oscar win for anyone.
The Reader- Holocaust flick. Fucking admit it!
Slumdog Millionaire- A Hollywood made Bollywood flick. Haven't seen it so I can't say good or bad.
Y Nom these unoriginal "let's recap and rewatch history" "do a film based on a book that was reworked into a film called Forrest Gump first, and then remade again into the film about the same book, by the same fucking writer!"
You Nom These Fuckers and you don't nom The Wrestler or The Dark Knight. FUCK YOU OSCARS!!!!! -
If he wins he can dump it on the oscar. If he loses he can dump it on the oscar and the winner. Brando would be proud!
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If only to view the finest red head not named Chrisitna Hendricks shake her nice pale ass in circa 1979 Roller Derby hot shorts.
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Jan 22, 2009 10:18:53 PM CST
A theory taking hold on why The Reader hit the jackpot today.
by pennsy
It was nominated IN SPITE of the douchebag prick who produced it. There were reports that Weinstein went at it hammer and tong with Sydney Pollack, to the point where they were arguing on the latter's *death bed*. There was such tremendous heat between Weinstein and the Pollack family that they banned him from speaking to any of them.
From what I was told, three reasons why the Reader scored so much today:
1) For the film itself
2) To honor Pollack and Minghella's memories
3) A sympathy vote for Scott Rudin (?), Daldry and the rest of the cast and crew.
Take that for what it's worth. It doesn't justify TDK's ouster, but mebbe this explains things moreso than before. -
Jan 22, 2009 10:52:13 PM CST
BUT WILL DARREN ARONOFSKY'S MIDDLE FINGER MAKE ANOTHER APPEARANC
by bringingsexyback
This time because Springsteen was shunned?
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The three biggest mistakes the Academy made this year are the Dark Knight not being nominated for best picture and best director, and Sally Hawkins not being nominated for Happy Go Lucky. I don’t understand how these nominations could be over looked. It is just a travesty. In the case of the Dark Knight I’m not even saying it should win those awards but it damn sure should have been recognized, but Sally Hawkins easily gave the best performance by a lead actress this year and should have not only been nominated but she should be receiving the award. Now I didn’t hate The Reader but it should not have replaced the Dark Knight for those nominations. I feel the same way about Angelina Jolie in Changeling she was good not great and she has Sally Hawkins nomination just because she’s Angelina Jolie.
Another nomination that is just missing altogether is Bruce Springsteen for “The Wrestler”. I don’t understand how they only gave three nominations in this category this year but Springsteen should have been nominated.
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Hey, Saving Private Ryan didnt win either. The Dark Knight got screwed big-time, but its legacy will live on without an Oscar for best picture. I am the biggest David Fincher fan in the world, and Benjamin Button was a great film. But I know what the best picture of the year was. "Harvey Harvey Harvey Dent". Give Heath his due Academy!
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My favourite movie never gets nommed: The Wrestler this year, Jesse James last year, The Fountain the year before that, The Constant Gardener that year before that. It is just perpetual snubbidge for me so I never really give a shit who ends up winning. So, meh. I think all of those had the best soundtrack of the year and weren't even nommed either.
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Jan 22, 2009 11:19:29 PM CST
Chishu_Ryu: Nolan's Whole Career Has Been One Big Prestige!!!
by media messiah
I have seen 3 of his films, 2 Batman films, The Prestige, and part of a 4th, that being his first film, and they have all left me cold. This guy has built a career off of building a real life Prestige, by pulling the wool over our eyes, or at leats some, all designed to fool everyone into think that he is a director and writer, and he is neither. The guy is really a camera tech, and that is it.
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and nominated the obvious choices - the studios' "prestige" movies - the "oscar best picture nomination" movies - lame - besides TDK, "Synecdoche, New York" and "The Wrestler" shoulda been nominated for best picture
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i hated the movie - but its fx were great
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but then the focus shifts to him winning a game show in order to get the attention of a very hot young girl - im bored just typing this
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the marketing behind the movie does not paint it as grim at all - but very bright and colorful full of zeitgeist editing and feel good moments of movie triumph - im falling asleep
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it shoulda been nominated - popular entertainment at its best
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I had an amazing cinematic experience with TDK that as a film fan I will never truly forget. You take the Batman elements out of the film, but leave the soul of the film intact and you've got yourself an Academy Best Picture nominee. The fact that the Academy is so short-sighted will be referenced in the ratings. "Knight Rider" on a bad night will beat this.
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Jan 22, 2009 11:53:19 PM CST
JimmyJoe RedSky: And For A Second Time, You've Been...
by media messiah
...robbed of 2 hours plus of your life.
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For his role as Skeletor in 'Masters Of The Universe'
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Hell yeah TDK blows away Superman: The Movie, Spider-Man and especially Darkman; all movies I like by the way. However, they are very much just fun, popcorn, summer blockbusters. Typical, comic book movies without a lot of depth beneath their cool effects, spandex costumes, etc. TDK had cool action scenes, gadgets, etc. but it also dealt with weighty issues in an intelligent fashion that didn't talk down to it's audience or dumb down it's script to a third grade reading level. I wasn't suggesting that the film Heat should have been nominated for an Oscar back when it first came out. I only mentioned it b/c it clearly was an influence on the opening bank heist scene in TDK and is a crime drama as is the TDK (more than it is simply a "superhero" or "comic book" movie like The Incredible Hulk or Iron Man; not that there's anything wrong with those pics, but they don't really deserve Oscar nominations.) TDK got robbed plain and simple. It has flawless casting and performances, a complex/compelling screenplay that deals with issues not unlike those we're facing in our world today (i.e. wire-tapping, torture, terrorism, etc.) stunning cinematography, editing, music, costumes, the list goes on. All of it being "conducted" by the relatively young and brilliant Christopher Nolan who should have received a Best Director nomination. TDK was a popular movie with audiences and critics, but genre films such as "comic book" movies thus far have proven unpopular with the Academy with rare exceptions (Return of the King, Pan's Labyrinth.)
"Popular"/safe choices for the Academy are period pieces, movies about the disabled, underdogs, movies that, for lack of a better phrase, "tug at the heart-strings/" Milk, Doubt, Benjamin Button, etc. are all obvious/safe choices. THAT is why I said, "grow a pair." Think outside the box Academy. This was an opportunity to nominate a comic book movie that is SO MUCH more. It will be a long time before another one comes along that will come close and have a shot at a potential Oscar. That's what sucks. And no, Watchmen, won't come close to the TDK. It might be visually stunning and faithful to the look of the book, but it is going to be the Cliff Notes version of that amazing, graphic novel. Do you think that Iron Man 2 will have a shot at being nominated for a Best Picture or Best Director Oscar? Hardly. -
Here's to Mickey; I hope you win brother, it was a great flick.
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I don't think you've seen Slumdog.
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That movie was boredom, followed by more boredom, followed by zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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...with a villain who keeps explaining to everybody in the movie why he does what he does...
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Just paraphrasing Klaus Kinski in Herzog's Classic AGUIRRE: WRATH OF GOD.
"I am the Wrath of God".
Glad to see Herzog fans on these Talkbacks.
Cheers! -
And yet you side with Button, the film that least belongs on any years end best of list out of all those chosen. The Reader isn't fantastic, but its a lot beter than Button or Milk.
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...The second coming or anything like that. However, it IS better than any of the other major nominees. A LOT fucking better in most cases. And yeah, they did fuck up by not recognising that fact, and instead electing to nominate safe, studio approved choices like Button, despite it being one of the worst major release films of the year. The Reader may be average, but at least its not BAD like Button. Oh well, expect the Oscars to start carrying about as much weight as the GG's in a couple years time.
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an over rated popularity contest, self aggrandizing, joke. If you look even back in the 30's many films considered brilliant were overlooked for lower quality films.
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I suggest you actually watch Forrest Gump and Benjamin Button before claiming they bare no similarity to each other, because such a claim makes you sound like a fucking idiot.
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CellarDweller: TDK better than Superman: The Movie? BWAH HA HA HA I laugh like the Joker. Maybe you'll still be watching it as many times as Superman 20 years from now? I won't be. MediaMessiah: TDK WAS cold, just like ALL of Nolan's movies. VERN: YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD, MY FRIEND. And whoever coined the phrase "Oscar strap-on" gets a gold fucking medal from me, I think that should be the new AICN Talkback "Gordon has beer a cheats on his wife"!! (which is how I felt after seeing TDK, by the way...)
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was a good movie. Is it oscar material? Probably not. Was Heath Ledgers performance worthy of recognition? Yes. He deserves the win.
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...was more original and entertaining than almost anything on this "Oscar" list. And Kristen Scott-Thomas, Springsteen, DiCaprio, and probably Aronofsky were indeed ROBBED. Haven't considered these awards "important" -- or even watchable -- for years, consider them even *less* now...
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Wow. Way to go on being a useless douche bag. Having seen Nolans two Batman films (name one superhero film that is better than either of those two) and his one awful films (The Prestige) while leaving out to date one of the better films of his career (Memento) or other solid director for hire gigs (insomnia) yet claiming he has pulled the wool over everyones eyes is like calling Fincher a desperate oscar grabbing hack because you've seen Benjamin Button but none of his good films.
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they are ass and piss.
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Love or loathe the movie, its fx were awesome.
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I've given up on the Oscars. It used to be fun to watch. I'd get in front of the tv, get some popcorn, and watch some of my favorite actors, actresses, and directors and such talk about movies that I've seen the last year. Most of the time I'd see most of the nominees. It was fun. My friends and I would always try to pick the winners or pick the ones we want to see win and pick the ones we think will win. Then each year there would be more obscure titles that it was becoming less and less intrigueing to watch. The last several years we would have to go out of our way to go see an "oscar" movie. The theater I work at doesn't carry a lot of those movies nowadays since they've mostly become indi's. I get to watch the movies we have for free but we haven't got in Revolutionary Road yet so a friend and I went out to a different theater and paid to see it. First time I've paid in forever. This was Wednesday, before the noms came out. I came out of that theater thinking it was definitely in my top 5 of 08 and probably my favorite from what I've been able to see. I was actually excited to watch the Oscars cause I finally found a movie that actually deserved to be called Best Picture. I've seen all the other nominees save for Slumdog and Reader so I figured Rev Road would be a semi front runner. I was totally floored it wasn't nominated. I was glad to see Micheal Shannon though, he was very good. However, it still was shocking to see something that I thought of so highly not be nominated. My friends and I have pretty good "oscar tastes" so when we see stuff we can generally tell if it's good enough to be nominted and/or win. After seeing the noms I lost a lot of respect that I grew up having for the Academy Awards. It's a sad fact but one that I can't really overlook. And I'm pretty sure I'll have the same feeling tomorrow night when I watch The Wrestler.
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no i havent seen it - i stated that many posts ago - your point being?... before you answer, are there any movies in release right now that you have no interest in seeing?
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Clint Eastwood. Gran Torino. Best Actor. Best Picture. Best Director. Period. No Contest.
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but its wall to wall nazis
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it was a decent biopic but nothing out of the ordinary in terms of the story. The performances were good though. If anyone can pull off the Ledger upset I think it's Brolin.
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Following: twisty film noir. Great fun. Memento: highly original murder mystery. Insomnia: decent thriller with some fantastic scenery. Batman Begins: best superhero origin story ever that reinvigorated the comicbook franchises. The Prestige: dark, compelling, science-fiction. The Dark Knight: best comicbook film ever.
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overrated. some funny parts, some good stuff but overall not as good as MDB, which I didn't like all that much, and Mystic River, freaking awesome.
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overrated. some funny parts, some good stuff but overall not as good as MDB, which I didn't like all that much, and Mystic River, freaking awesome.
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Wall*E was robbed!
Say what you want about the strength of 2008's movies, but I think Wall*E stands tall as one of the year's five best films. Not being nominated for Best Picture is dismissive of animation.
Academy to Pixar: "Sorry, no seats left here. Why don't you go sit at the kid's table?" -
I don't blame him for Alien 3. That was crap in spite of his efforts. But until Benjamin Button, Fincher was on par with Nolan. Now he's a sell-out. Directing this Oscar bait turd with hardly any flair or originality. I hope it wins just so we have a constant reminder of how low the Academy can sink. It will be like "remember when Benjamin Button won? That's the Oscars are meaningless".
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it works.
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and speed racer? - it had fx nomination all over it - i love TDK, but the most impressive fx in it were 2face's face and all the practical stunts and pyro - HB2 and speed racer were indeed sights to behold - and cloverfield's fx were very realistic and scary - wtf?
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great comics - i hope its animated and rated r - like a fucked up violent pixar movie
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The film received lukewarm reviews and was widely panned for being Oscar bait. Yet it is one of the year's best pictures? WHAT A FUCKING JOKE.
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yeah, I was thinking the EXACT same thing. Kinda made me laugh when I saw the noms.
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But the bottom line is that Batman is a character created for children. It doesn't matter that now, in modern day, kids enjoy more violent action and more complicated plots. Superhero comics are for kids. WATCHMEN works because it is addressing that very idea by taking the material as seriously as possible. But in the end the characters still wear funny outfits for no logical reason. And for all it's glory, THE DARK KNIGHT--with Batman removed and some vigilante cop in the lead--is a fairly bland crime drama. It all boils down to the scene in the interrogation room with the Joker...it's dark and gloomy...and then suddenly the lights come on and Bale is there in that stupid mask that rides WAY TOO LOW on his nose, trying to be dramatic with a voice that has been overly filtered electronically...and the film just falls apart into: silly. Bottom line: THE DARK KNIGHT rises to its own level, like water. But there's nothing wrong with water. I drink it all the time.
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Jan 23, 2009 2:50:13 AM CST
Anyway, the Oscars are contrived just like AMERICAN IDOL.
by bob cryptonight
Try not to care about it all. It's fairly easy.
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...For most effective marketing campaign directed at fucking borederline retarded individuals. The effects fucking sucked, by the way. The director should be commended for effectively masking his cheap budget, but that sort of doesn't work when your film looks like crap. It's been a lousy year for movies, especially coming on the heels of yesteryear, but even by this years weak standards, thats a fucking shitty oscar line up. A fucking 100 per cent dud. Not only did they ignore the films people want to see, like with the Rings flicks or Titanic, but they ignored some fine films in place of lazy, boring oscar bait like Milk or Button. A highlight may be seeing Rourke win...and thats about it. Jesus, Pitt? What fuckng drugs were they on. I second whoever said even Farrell in In Bruges would have been a better choice. Even the favourite, Slumdog, while fun, isn't especially a stand out as a really great flick. It's more like a win by default. I do like seeing Michael Shannon getting some noms though. He was fucking fantastic in Bug, and he deserves way more work. Been a fan from way back in Jesus' Son days. By the way, to back up Dickblood, who I don't particuarly like...Wall E didn't get robbed. It got nominated in the field it deserved to be nominated in. It's honestly quite good when seen in the context of a childrens film, but if your a half literate adult whose grown up in todays society, it's a fairly mediocre story and effort. Also too strictly aheres to the Pixar "McHappy Meal Toy discovers emotions, large scale comic chase ensues, pat cliche morality lession is issued, every cries, the end." Also, are people fucking serious about Gran Torino? Jesus christ that movie was crap. It's Clints worst non monkey movie. Did you not notice the woeful, laughable performances, the retarded 7th Heaven level of humour or the plot hole laden ridiculous conclusion? Yeah, I know, it's still better than Forrest Button. Bob Cryptonight, thats what impressed me so much about the film, that despite it's genre handicaps it managed to be very, very good. Same with begins.
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As in our television screens going dark that night. The backlash has begun! Join the boycott of the Academy Awards!
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Man, why'd you have to go and badmouth ALIEN³. I swear, some people just can't accept that it's good. The poor delusional bastards.
I think BENJAMIN BUTTON got a lot of love because the Academy realized that they totally gave ZODIAC the shaft. I haven't seen BUTTON yet, though, so I don't know how Oscarbaitory it is. -
Insomnia was not original- it's a vastly inferior remake. And Alien 3 is good.
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Wrestler not even in the running for best pick?
Streep overacting horribly gets a best actress nom? what the fuck... -
word!
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some tards of course will just think of it as 'miserable' but like the Wrestler..its confronting and unforgettable...of course unless you are a mental midget..aint not shortage of those around here
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I totally agree with you quantize. People still amaze me at their stupidity. I mean you can take parts of Revolutionary Road and they are still better than Doubt and The Reader as a whole. The best performance Leo has ever gave, Winslet was amazing because Leo actually made her go through it not like she was sleepwalking.....the reader.... Seriously, how the FUCK did she get nominated for that and not RR is beyond me. I mean if you're gonna nominate her at least nominate her for her better performance of the 2.
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She should have got a nod for Mamma Mia.
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Does Ledger's performance as The joker count as "Going full retard?"
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The academy released a list of 49 songs that were eligible for nomination. "The Wrestler" was on that list. The Academy just fucked up. Honestly, this is as big a shock as if Slumdog hadn't gotten a BP nod. Bruce's song was the RUNAWAY FAVORITE to WIN, to say nothing of a nomination.
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Yes. The same could be said of THE READER.
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It was I who engineered TDK not to be nominated by the Academy, knowing that all the lame movie geeks would go ape-shit and thus never leave their mommies basement, thereby causing massive computer failure around the globe!
And soon, I WILL RULE THE WORLD!
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!! -
I think this should win the best foreign picture award because it is easily the heaviest film I have seen in a long time. Its one of those films that stick with you long after you leave. Easily one of my favourite films of the year. I defy anyone to see it without have to hold back a manly tear. Can't recomend it highly enough.
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"Dark Knight" is a film that comes around once every twenty years or so. Not nominating for best picture makes the whole affair a joke. However, there are a couple other movies that should be in this list. "In Bruges," "The Wrestler," and "Gran Torino" come immediately to mind. "Benjamin Button" was an overrated piece of shit (it's like "Forest Gump" except NOTHING FUCKING HAPPENS) and none of the other films except"Slumdog" really brought anything new to the table. Oh, and of course "Let the Right One In" in the foreign language category. The Academy has a good run for the past two or three years picking reasonable films for Best Picture and other categories, but they fucked up this time.
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In Bruges in particular was well above some of these other nominated films. I hated Batman Begins but really enjoyed TDK, for all the fuckwads here feeling so pleased at the dismay for the lack of noms it has...like Pan's, it would have been a great thing to have a fantasy film of quality be recognized alongside other drama.
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I was not a Dark Knight fan, but aside from that, who gives a shit what's nominated for an Oscar? I mean, you guys can't piss and moan about the Oscars always sucking and being ultimately meaningless but at the same time be pissed when your movie isn't nominated. Your being pissed betrays the clear fact that you DO care. But why? Do you give a shit about the Grammy's? That's all any of this is, you know. Rich people creating awards to justify their entirely self-indulgent existance. As cliche as it is to say, these ceremonies are about nothing more than celebrity and fashion. I mean, really, we need a whole season devoted to further glorify what is essentially an absurdity: that these people spend and receive millions upon millions of dollars to be fools on a stage? It's a circle jerk. And you guys are actually disappointed that Chris Nolan doesn't get nominated? Why? I mean, I'm sure he's disappointed; he is, after all, part of the circle desperately hoping to be jerked. But why are you guys mad? Because you won't get to watch it being televised? Give me a break! The reality is what so many of you seem to say but not believe, these awards are meaningless, and they would be just as meaningless if TDK won every last one of them.
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Jan 23, 2009 7:00:00 AM CST
Was wondering how long it would take one of the moderators to me
by mrsentinel
Message to the O-bots: No room for Socialism in the United States of America.
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When in doubt, bring the Krauts out:1.The Reader2.Valkyre3.Defiance4.Miracle of St. Anna5.The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.And 6 if you count Dead Snow that wacky Nazi Zombie comedy.Oh and then there's Call of Duty 4 with Nazi Zombies.Damn, Those Germans just can't catch a break."Git in de choppa!!"
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A nom for that would have been nice.
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They are two of the most exciting directors around. And I love the fact that Cuaron went from Y TU MAMA TEMBIEN to do HARRY POTTER; and that Del Toro went from PAN'S LABYRINTH to HELLBOY 2. I.e. both went from the kinds of films that win awards, to the kinds of films that will NEVER win awards - but have JUST as much heart, and artistry and intelligence as their arty predecessors.
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It's true, the academy is a bunch of rich out-of-touch older film industry types who really aren't any more qualified than you or me to determine a great film. No one should get bent out of shape because these old folks didn't like your favorite film. I kind of enjoy oscar season really more for the discussion it sparks - the nominations for me are more of a jumping off point to think about what films I liked best and here you've got a list that most people pay attention to that we can compare our own choices with. I think most people here will agree that the films the academy chose were nice enough, mostly well made technically, but pretty uninspired (esp. best pic).
I'm actually interested in the Documentary category more. That might be where the real best films are this year (except Let the Right One In) The three I saw were all really good and perhaps equally deserving, but I really hope Herzog wins and gets to make an awesome speech! Encounters at the End of the World was beautiful and fascinating. -
Fuck you Oscars.
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What do you want from the Academy? For them to suck your cocks? If you like genre films and feel 'looked down upon' by stuck up critics - well that's their problem, not yours. Someone who looks down on 'genre' won't get to see THE SEARCHERS (Western), THE BAND WAGON (Musical), THE GODFATHER (gangster), 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (sci-fi), A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH (fantasy) and - yes - THE DARK KNIGHT (comic book). Let's not forget, too, that Bergman made a horror film, Tarkovsky a sci-fi film, and Ozy silent comedies. SO YOU WEAR YOUR LOVE OF GENRE PROUDLY, and if anyone looks down on the films you love, it's their loss.
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Yeah!
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He really is on a Crazy Train
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Nolan Wuz Robbed
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Sorry - movie is just "Forrest Gump: Return of the Gump" but without the humor and 30 extra minutes of scenery establishing shots.
As Cobert said last night with Buttons Academy Award Nominations = "see, America does believe in Torture."
I did love me the beginning and ending of the movie = nice bookends. The F ScottFitzgerald story was only 5 pages that this is based on - maybe they should have stuck closer to that. -
So how it could possibly not be nominated makes no sense whatsoever. They even did a spot on NPR this morning about it -- how its not being nominated shows the academy is completely disconnected from reality. I could say how the film might not win, but it should have AT LEAST been nominated for Best Pic. And as I said before, if laughably awful swill like TITANIC can win Best Pic? TDK should have swept the entire awards.
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I heard the same bit on Morning Edition or whatever it was, and they didn't claim the Academy was disconnected with reality, but instead with the general viewing public. There is a difference. And while I don't want to get into a debate to the relative merits of TDK, I would say that being successful among critics and audiences does not make something the best of all. I tend to think a lot of the critics response to TDK was at least somewhat affected by their A: Desire for it to be good (rooted in Ledger) and B: Their ultimately low expectations for the film. When the bar is set so low, it's pretty simple to clear it soley on the grounds of a single good performance and creative ambition. Again, not to get into a discussion of whether this or that about the film was great or not, on most aspects we wouldn't agree. But to suggest that objective merit is proved by the subjective response of the masses, is simply not true. If people are bored by 2001, which most people are, does that make the movie suck?
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If you all think it should win an Oscar, it must be pretty good.As good as Crash? Forrest Gump? Chicago?Surely not as good as Driving Miss Daisy?
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There were two superbly written, multi-layered and subtly acted women's lead roles this year - Winslet in Revolutionary Road, which is a far better and subtler performance than her Reader one and marks the first time EVER that a Golden Globe winner in the Best Actress Drama category has not received an Oscar nomination! And also Kristin Scott Thomas in I've Loved You So Long, which is an education in masterful acting. Both performances are better than any of the five nominated. Add in no Dark Knight in picture, no Springsteen in song, no Dark Knight or Rev Road in score, no Sheen in supporting actor, no Bashir in animation and these Oscars equal a joke.
But shame on you Harry for saying there were no good roles for women and not pointing out the Academy's stunning two omissions! -
An overrated snoozefest once again. Oh, and Forrest Gump 2 fits as well.
Most nominees are from the last four months. There were some more months in 2008, oh wise lords of the Academy... -
You want me to name superior super hero films to Batman Begins and TDK. Well, pretty much any super hero film is better than those two dull and heartless, meanless films, but let me give you 2 far superior films. The Rocketeer, and The Hulk 2 hour series pilot. The latter was a tv show and was much better than anything Nolan has even touched.
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...I think that calling Nolan a hack is pure trolling.
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It is dull, long, unemotional. Pitt had the role of a lifetime and did nothing with it. Slumdog should sweep the main awards, at least has a heart.
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Ok I missed the post were you said you hadn't seen Slumdog. But I have read your post were you've gone on and on about how you really know nothing about the movie and all your accusations about it are way off and wrong. If your gonna try to bash a movie, at least try to be right.
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It is a British film, made by a British director with a British crew and a British lead - Dev Patel. It is set in India, that doesn't make it a Bollywood film you morons! Star Wars was set in a galaxy far far away, does that mean aliens filmed it? Idiots!
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What that guy in the bat suit was doing in my remake of Heat. Its like every time the cops were doing their thing he showed up and I was like "wtf is that guy doing there?" But the terrorist in the clown make up was cool.
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I guess they are hoping its a hit, somehow the last two kind of were. Even though I think they are both terrible terrible movies (But I loved Die Hard 4.0: Live Free of Die Hard, even when you can tell they dubbed over conversations to get that highly coveted PG-13 rating for an Action film). So maybe next week they can expand Outlander and tack on, from the creator of Underworld 3-D even though there are like 9 names attached to the screenplay. Also is Michael Sheen the main star of this movie? Is that him in the trailers with his shirt off and everything?
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Wrong thread.
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THAT WAS HIELARIOUS!
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Are you fucking kidding me? Yeah that Joker outfit was real hard to put together. Half the douchebags here could have put that shit together. Half the douchebags here probably dress like that anyway.
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I know it's the same writer but it's still derivative and lame. It deserves best cinimatography but that's it.
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According, it seems, to current opinion.
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should have had Nazi's has the villians just has the Rocketeer did? Would that have made it a better film?
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Jan 23, 2009 9:58:10 AM CST
The Spirit has Nazis. No fucking nominations?!!
by dannyglovers_dickblood
WHAT?!!
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for the Spirit? What about the lead actor? He was pants.
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I thought it was pure genius and obviously the most underrated and overlooked film in 2008. I understand it was self-indulgent and surrealistic (most people don't appreciate surrealism) but I thought it was one of the most poignant films by an artist analyzing his craft and deconstructing art and life itself. On par with Fellini's 8 1/2. Brilliant.
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Many viewers (the dumb ones, anyway) may find 2001 boring, BUT, the critical response was overwhelming -- with good reason, its a brilliant work of art; hence its nomination and win (I think it one best pic, didn't it?). TDK, though not at the same level of genius that 2001 is, is also one of those rare popular entertainments that manages to not only appeal to the knuckle-draggers, but also the chin-scratchers, because it to is a brilliant work of art; and a rare one too -- the blockbuster that manages to be intelligent and intellectually satisfying. Not the same kind of art that 2001 is, but art nonetheless. Audiences loved it and critics love it. Again, look at TITANIC -- critical acclaim was comparatively low, basically about average, but it did outstanding business at the BO. So how in the hell did the utterly mediocre TITANIC win Best Pic whilst TDK doesn't even get a nomination. I mean, look, I could understand how TDK might not win, but it should've at least been nominated for best pic. Either mass audiences and the vast majority of critics are wrong, or the academy is. I side with the former two...
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How the hell did that piece of shit get nominated for anything other than the cut-out bin at Wal-Mart? It was a TERRIBLE movie. If that could be nominated, how the hell was TDK snubbed?
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is so fucking typical of board-posting cinephile fanboys. the film made too much money to be considered great. if everybody loves it, then you fucking whiners will hate it no matter what.
TDK is a brilliant flick. and just because the masses of mouth-breathers loved it too does not change the fact that it is a pitch-perfect crime epic with an art house tone and brilliant performances.
face it, haters. every so often, a film will come out that is deservedly adored by critics, laymen, and every demographic in between. the dark knight is that film.
so get the fuck over it. nobody gives a fuck that you are a "rebel" who thought the dark knight was shit.
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How the hell did that not win Best Pic? No Country is good, but TWBB is AMAZING.
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It's interesting to look at how critics rated the nominated films using metacritic. THE DARK KNIGHT gets a meta rating of 82, versus BENJAMIN BUTTON 69, THE READER 59, FROST/NIXON 80, MILK 84, and SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE 86. By that reckoning the Critics have been ignored by the Academy, with both BB and THE READER recieving far lower scores than many other flicks of 2008 (including of course TDK).
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Incidentally the highest rated, most critically acclaimed film of 2008, was.... WALL-E with an aggregate score of 93.
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And Jesus Christ ... that movie was nothing compared to TWBB. What was so GREAT about it? Good, I understand. But great?
I'm getting a deja vu feeling about Slumdog too. It's probably gonna be a huge letdown when actually watching it. -
The usual bunch of fruity arthouse pictures that no one watches are up for the nomination, while amazing films like The Dark Knight are overlooked.
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Its one of my all time favorite films, a work of sheer genius. NO COUNTRY was good, sure, but it pales in comparison to the genius of TWBB.I haven't seen SLUMDOG yet, but I fear the same thing -- that its going to be a huge let-down. Plus, I CAN'T STAND "feel good" romantic shit. I like my romance tragic, obsessive, and doomed.
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It's a simplistic sappy story. Poor kid from the slums wins big on, who wants to be a millionaire. That's about it.
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and tdk. I have not seen Revolutionary Road. It may be brilliant and leo maybe brilliant as well as kate. but its the story. disintergrating marriage in 1950s america. Its is an utterly drepressing film. in these times people want escapist type films. but the academy is very conservative. Dark knight maybe the biggest and most successful film of modern times. it is an escapist films. it is a crime film. the villain in it is a knife weilding socio-psychopath. The thinking behind its exclusion shows up the academys convservatism. There is a thing called the obama factor in all this. I am not saying that his people were on the phone to the academy or anything. its more to do with the mood of the country. people want feelgood. they want hope. By the way the dark knight is a very very very good film. it looks great and ledgers performance is great.its one of the most realistic looking comic book films that I have seen in a long time. I think as of now the best picture of the year is a toss up between Ben Button(literay judges alway hated F.Scott fitzgerald) and slumdog millionaire. which is the feelgood film of the year and the decade. Batman despite being a technically brilliant with a great performance from heath ledger. Was a brutal(tough and harsh not brutal as in bad) and in many ways a cold piece of filmmaking.
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TDK is a movie in search of a purpose to justify its mere existance. There was no story in that film, just a lot of explosions and loose talk about doing the right thing, and not compromising in that goal. And it was all B.S.!!! The Rocketeer made me fall in love with the characters. I wanted to be the young stunt pilot/the Rocketeer, the hero. I wanted to fall in love with the girl, I wanted to defeat the villains and save the girl and the world. A good movie inspires you, and makes you yearn to be something more. It fills you with a sense of fun, joy, sadness, love, romance, bravery, danger, thrills, and a feeling that anything good and great, is possible. TDK and Batman Begins, just sat there...flat, on screen...and Bale, that voice...and that costume, looked like, and felt like, a bad clumsy joke, where as, the guy in the costume in Batman: Dead End (search You Tube), looked like Batman could really exist in the real world and could be cast in a gritty drama that you would be willing to suspend your disbelief for as a member of the audience. Save for the guy who played the Joker, and rather horribly, at that, Batman: Dead End, offered an inspired template that the new Batman films should have followed. You can see the fight choreography cleanly, and clearly. There is no bulky awkward costume like with the spade of Warner Batman films, and his bat-a-rangs...sort of brass knuckle like blades...look handsomely real...and as if they are functional weapons. There is tension, a sense of fun, and excitement there in that fan film...especially when Batman is faced down with impossible odds...seen in the twist, and surprise, ending. The Nolan Batman films are missing fun, intrigue, joy, and heart--in fact, they are just dead...emotionally and devoid of any real measurable excitement that makes you want to cheer?But enough of bad Batman films, and one to a great film. It is a super hero film, although it isn't about a super hero, but rather a young man who unlocks the hero that is hidden inside of him. It is a Christian Slater film, called Untamed Heart. He doesn't wear a cape...no, he is just an awkward guy who hides a secret, and who lives an unfortunate life. No one sees what is truly special about him, save for one special girl who bothers to look a little deeper than most. She peers into the heart of this sad and lonely soul and finds a priceless diamond in the ruff. It is truly a beautiful and welcomed lost gem of a movie, one that makes Chris Nolan look like the heartless, dull, and uninspired rank amateur, that he is.
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Fuck that.
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Jan 23, 2009 11:26:44 AM CST
Amended: Yoda's Ball Sack: A Story Would Have Made TDK Better
by media messiah
TDK is a movie in search of a purpose to justify its mere existance. There was no story in that film, just a lot of explosions and loose talk about doing the right thing, and not compromising in that goal. And it was all B.S.!!!
The Rocketeer made me fall in love with the characters. I wanted to be the young stunt pilot/the Rocketeer, the hero. I wanted to fall in love with the girl, I wanted to defeat the villains and save the girl and the world. A good movie inspires you, and makes you yearn to be something more. It fills you with a sense of fun, joy, sadness, love, romance, bravery, danger, thrills, and a feeling that anything good and great, is possible. TDK and Batman Begins, just sat there...flat, on screen...and Bale, that voice...and that costume, looked like, and felt like, a bad clumsy joke, where as, the guy in the costume in Batman: Dead End (search You Tube), looked like Batman could really exist in the real world and could be cast in a gritty drama that you would be willing to suspend your disbelief for as a member of the audience. Save for the guy who played the Joker, and rather horribly, at that, Batman: Dead End, offered an inspired template that the new Batman films should have followed. You can see the fight choreography cleanly, and clearly. There is no bulky awkward costume like with the spade of Warner Batman films, and his bat-a-rangs...sort of brass knuckle like blades...look handsomely real...and as if they are functional weapons. There is tension, a sense of fun, and excitement there in that fan film...especially when Batman is faced down with impossible odds...seen in the twist, and surprise, ending. The Nolan Batman films are missing fun, intrigue, joy, and heart--in fact, they are just dead...emotionally and devoid of any real measurable excitement that would make you want to cheer?
But enough of bad Batman films, and on to a great film. It is a super hero film, although it isn't about a super hero, but rather a young man who unlocks the hero that is hidden inside of him. It is a Christian Slater film, called Untamed Heart. He doesn't wear a cape...no, he is just an awkward guy who hides a secret, and who lives an unfortunate life. No one sees what is truly special about him, save for one special girl who bothers to look a little deeper than most. She peers into the heart of this sad and lonely soul and finds a priceless diamond in the ruff. It is truly a beautiful and welcomed lost gem of a movie, one that makes Chris Nolan look like the heartless, dull, and uninspired rank amateur, that he is. -
Indeed. Would be a great Oscar moment and it'd be hilarious to read people whining about it for weeks afterward.
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...that not just wasn't ashamed of using the old "Superhero wants to quit because he isn't sure how it affects the people around him"-plot (Hello? Have the Nolan's ever heard of Spider-Man?), but also wastes way too much time on the MacGuffin with the mafia money in Tokyo and then jumps every 10 minutes to another subplot! (Scarecrow is still at large, Batman wants to quite, Joker kills random people to blackmail Batman, Joker sets a bomb, Gordon is "dead", Joker sets another bomb, Two Face appears, another Joker Bomb, Someone knows Batman's Identity, next Joker Bomb, Two Face seeks revenge, the ferry bombs and then is Two-Face still at large.)
And I seriously wonder why Heath Ledger's Joker get such a free pass from everybody (Okay, he's dead.) He was doing a Burton-Batman villain with a mild taste of Tommy Lee Jones' Two Face, but I guess Fanboys accept sillyness easier when something is "dark and brooding". (Remember how everybody thought a while ago that ROTS is the best Star Wars ever, just because kids get murdered and Anakin burns alive? It's pretty much the same now.) -
There is nothing wrong with a well made feel good film. I dont like the films of micheal winner. But he and bronson tapped into a vein when he starred in death wish films. not nominated for single award. But these films have thier fans whom I have no doubt were deeply upset when it was not nominated for anything. Batman is after all a vigilante with more money than anyone stakes fear into the heart of his enemies. People like batman cause he kicks the crap out of people. The split is between those who want feelgood films and those who dont.
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I agree. Now that is a true fucking tragedy. Not one nomination for Effects, Sound, or Art Direction? Fuck that. I can see the Benjamin Button nomination for effects. But The Dark Knight?!! Fuck that nonsense. -
...why they had to blame Batman for the death of Harvey Dent? I can understand that they can't blame The Joker, because "they are the good guys" and even more important, if someone finds out that it wasn't him, this might get him out of jail. But why can't they just say something like "He died from his injuries" (I guess his burned body wasn't a huge secret.) or "We are still investigating." Why is it so important that everybody hates Batman? To keep the vigilantes away from copying him? This won't stop them, especially not after they will find out that "the guy who killed Dent" is still a successful crime fighter.
Come on. Anybody? -
not supposed to really like any of the characters..Bruce Wayne is a spoiled rich kid who is kinda an asshole...the only real characters to sympathize with is Gordon and Dent because they were trying to be honorable and good
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They ARE Oscarworthy! There is much more CGI in the movie than just Two Face's face, but it looks so good and realistic that many people think that it was the only use of CGI.
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yes, both films happen to tell a story of a mans life from start to end, if you're gonna go that far you might as well call it Gone With the Wind or better yet, English Patient 2 (which would be more accurate), but still that lazy analogy is way off. Who gives a shit that they have the same writer???
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yeah then he's gonna go back to making HIS films...what the fuck ever
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But i even disliked Harvey Dent, because while he was clearly the good guy, he always felt...well, slimy and arrogant.
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and while i thought TDK was very very good. I agree with you media messiah and by DerLanghaarige up to a certain point.
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was nominated for Best Cinematography?!?? Are you kidding me?
As for Benjamin Button, watch it again (that is if you bothered watching it a first time rather than just deciding that it sucks). It's still very much a Fincher film. It takes the conventional hollywood epic romance and hits all the expected beats, but watch it again...it's pretty fucked up! And Fincher gets you to accept the weirdness by virtue of the genre he's working in. Not unlike how Se7en subverts the serial killer movie and Zodiac does the same with the police procedural. As usual with Fincher, it looks amazing and rewards thought and attention.
However, does it not seem redundant (and pointless) to nominate it for both best makeup and best visual effects? Same for TDK...makeup? Really?
The digital manipulation of faces does not best makeup make. -
TDk was the whole rachel dawes angle of the movie. and that utterly stupid subplot about her, wayne and Harvey dent. Why did they bother bringing her back if they then killed her off.
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I was terrified that this shoddy, misconceived nonsense would be nominated. The academy have more sense than they're given credit for. They've called TDK for the mess that it is.Pity they chose to nominated Ledger's showy, predictable line reading (I won't call it a performance). Hopefully he won't win but I fear that the sympathy vote will carry him over. If he were still alive, he wouldn't be on that list.
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i look at these talkbacks sometimes just for something to make me laugh. the sam jackson "he was pants" helped out. thank for that. and by the way, he was pants in that. but the movie was such a comic book it didn't hurt it much. but you know sam doesn't care, he's just cashing checks.and by the way, yes TDK is a brilliant flick, and no, the mainstream isn't going to get it like most of us do. to most of the highbrows that are academy voters, it's just a comic book movie, nothing more. heath ledger was amazing and oscar worthy because the actor disappeared, and all that was up on that screen was joker. that to me makes a role worthy of accolade.
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thats just cause he was a Da and yes he did have a holier than thou attitude in a corrupt town which was why he was targeted by joker..
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that thing made adam west's series seem hardcore.
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Seriously, it was mediocre at best. Long, slow and boring. If Ledger didn't gorge on that pill buffet, the movie wouldn't have been so hyped.
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Though I wouldn't go so harsh on Heath....Agreed.
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Ben Buttons was boring as fuck. THe effects were pretty cool, but god damn what a long, boring, pointless fucking movie.
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Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with you?
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Sorry, I wasnt so PC. If Ledger didn't die, there would be no nomination.
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You mouthbreathing, knuckledragging, whiny, pedantic, self-loathing fucks.
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I love TDK, but no. It shouldn't get an Oscar. TDK wasn't robbed, Changeling was.
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crappy, some-would-say-offensive Holocaust films, hyperbolic praise of dead actors...give it a rest!
Heath's performance has been called a picture of a young actor staring down the void, or some such silliness. Dead is better! So says Hollywood... -
I thought Heath was great, but to say that his death has nothing to do with the Oscar is insane. Of course it did. If he was still alive, we would be yelling that they weren't nominating him.
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Movies aren't recognized for the intergrity of plot, character development or direction anymore. It's the actor's real-life problems that get the Academy's attention. Heathy was not a great actor. (Patriot, anyone?) Neither was Brad Renfro. But, as soon as they die they are regarded as giant influences in the field. Fuck that! More Tom Selleck!
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Worse than Batman and Robin.
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That's why you got banned last time. I don;t think TDK deserved best film, but that was a fucking good performance. And the changeling is atrocious.
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Watch LOST and you'll see what a bad CG helicopter looks like... especially when it crashes in the ocean. Ugh.
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He's like Kurt Russell, they don't need no sticking Oscar.
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I need a fix 'cause I'm goin down...
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Quigley was the shiz-nit
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I raped his mouth...over and over and over again...Lighten up man, you brits are suppose to be funny. Look at Mr Bean, Hugh Grant and Tony Blair
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Oh come on......you're gonna compare the effects from a tv show to a 200 million dollar movie? I know you love TDK, but get real-- the helicopter spinning around before it crashed look like garbage. The motion was cartoony.
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A lot of actors have died without getting nominated posthumously for awards (isn't Heath only the third or something?). It was a pretty amazing performance, whatever you think of the actor.
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I'm not playing devil's advocate, because I don't think the movie actually made this clear, and Gordon's movie-ending monologue works against it, but what *I* got out of the whole "blame Batman" thing was that Batman won't kill. His personal code of ethics doesn't allow it. And the Joker knows it. Eric Roberts knows it. The whole criminal underworld knows it. By putting the blame for those deaths on Batman, it throws doubt on that ethic. It helps reinforce the fear that some of those criminals were losing because they know Batman won't kill. Of course, that falls apart when you realize how easily any of the smarter criminals could figure out what was going on... Still, I think that's what you can get from that. But again, the movie doesn't really say this AND Gordon's speech at the end doesn't address it at all.
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Whoa, steady on. That's a bit of a prattish post.
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Yeah, jut talking aboout the recognition the movie get in general. Ledger, Brandon Lee, etc. However, there is what I like to call, "The Bernie Mac exception"
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Okay unfair comparison. The copter didn't really catch my attention as bad CG, honestly. I do love the movie, but that doesn't mean I won't criticize certain things. Like the stupid "Things are worse than EVER!" scene. That extra should be shot.
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I dont care about the oscars anymore. That was the most predictable awards show ever.
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I almost said that with a straight face...
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As long as you and people like you continue to be fooled into thinking TDK has "depth". TDK is the freshman goth kid who walks around with a copy of Beyond Good and Evil but has never read it.
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I just want Nolan to stop giving Cops cliched dialogue like 'I see him, I see him.
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The scene where Liv and the Hulk are sitting in the cave with the rain and lightning.
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BB is written by the same screen writer of gump - not proof, i know - but some critics and more than a few people that have seen it have made the observation that it "feels" a lot like gump - my brother saw the trailer for the first time recently and said "it kinda reminds me of forrest gump" - ? - gump-ish?
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Didnt a cop say " have a nice trip, see ya next fall" when they arrested all of the mob in TDK. Oh yeah, that's some oscar-worthy script writtin'
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all i said was i had no interest in seeing it and why - i dont care for the subject matter story and execution - all these things i can garner from reviews and trailers - my colorful language might have been distracting - bashing a movie you havent seen is not being short sighted - im sure you can think of more than one you havent seen that you have negative words for
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The top People's Choice Award went to The Dark Knight. There. You made it win. The Academy's not obliged to mirror your opinions--they're not a democratically-elected representative government, for God's sake. Maybe The Reader was added to the Pic noms to block not only TDK, but Doubt, Wall-E, and one or two other deserving films. (I'm surprised that Synecdoche, NY didn't get anything, obtuse as it was.) Or maybe they just thought it was a better movie. Who cares? It's their show. It's one thing to enjoy a movie and want it to receive its due, but something else entirely to take it as a personal affront because something that has virtually nothing to do with you didn't go the way you'd hoped.
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Just looks really meh.
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i let cartoony crashes slide when watching a superhero movie - even ones with real world trappings, like TDK - the truck flipping and cycle wall-spin were cartoony too - but none of this ruined the movie - it all helped - its a batman movie after all - the point is for all the stuff to feel real - not be real - iron man felt pretty real, but was all cartoony - and imo
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because the supporting cast was so damn bad.
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but it felt familiar and derivative - good though - im not surprised it wasnt nominated - there were more a few great movies that were not
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I see what you're saying but that effect looked really really shitty.
The motion was all wrong and the thing had no texture at all. Most of the CG was very good. I'm reading about a ton of shit I had no idea they even did. A lot of digital Batman stunt replacement that is pretty fucking seamless. -
Benjamin Button had an amazing trailer. Whimsical, haunting, perfectly paced. It highlighted Fincher's amazing visual sense. It made me so fucking excited to see it. Actually watching it was a less enjoyable experience. The script does what I hate the most. And it does it a lot. It makes things easy. So while there are scenes where things take off (the Tilda Swinton affair is extremely well executed), ultimately I found it frustrating. MAJOR SPOILERS ahead. For one, the movie creates its own logic to simplify the ending. He's born a baby. A tiny baby, with old wrinkly skin. He doesn't come out the size of an old man. I mean, sure you get a little hunched and shrink, but you don't revert to baby-size. But you know what, that was fine for me because that was the setup. That was the logic created for the story. By the end of the movie, he should not have been shrinking all the way back to baby form. I get that it highlights the fact that you end up having to be taken care of. But it was lazy and risk-less. He should have ended up an adult-sized baby. An absolute freak-ish creature. A tall, smooth-skinned, bald baby. Worse yet, I accepted the route the script took, only to be shit on once again for ease. Hmm, let's give him Alzheimer's. That way him and Daisy's relationship means practically nothing. It would have been such a dense and affecting scene if he could remember everything as a child. Now don't come back at me with logical reasons why this shit didn't happen ("excuse me dumbass, but obviously Benjamin Button's body doesn't play by any rules, and his brain could easily be susceptible to disorder) because I don't care. If you didn't want me to look at this fable with a sense of reality, why frame it in reality. The reason it went that way was for ease. The script was written not to challenge, not to inspire, but merely to be palatable. Fincher did a fine job making it taste okay, but I threw it all up by the end. I was puking out chunks of Hurricane Katrina and lightning strikes and extremely predictable emotional moments.
Faves of 09: Slumdog Millionaire(intermittently dark and bright with more energy than any other movie this year), In Bruges (an instant fookin' classic), Revolutionary Road (people forget to mention how fucking electric this movie is when discussing how "miserable" it is. and also its dark humor and great score. this movie's not hopeless; it's cautionary. so glad Shannon got nominated.) -
matted hair in face, funny glasses, musketeer beard and shiny suit a size too small
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That effect is a great use of CG... to enhance a character's degeneration, rather than just using CG because you can.
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But come on-- Best Makeup? Its fucking CG with a tiny bit of scarring and placement markers glued to his actual face. So the Makeup nom is for Joker? Awww give me a break. If Joker is nominated for makeup, than The Crow should have been nominated for makeup. It took 4 people to do Joker's makeup. I like the look, but come on. Heath could have done that himself. Lets be honest here.
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i see what YOU are saying - im also saying, i let the occasional less than perfect fx shot slide in movies i like - they cant all be home runs - and - if the movie is doing its job right it shouldnt matter - by that time in the story i was too caught up to even notice the flaws youre pointing out - suspension of disbelief, a movie goers best friend - but hey, youre talking to a guy that loves the bronto stampede in king kong
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Bullsheeet. It should be up for Best Picture.
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Much like ZODIAC MOTHERFUCKER over at the AV club, somebody needs to give this DGDB guy editor status and black box rights.
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as soon as 2face showed up all i could think about is how much less real that shit looked than everything up till then in the movie. I didn't think about the joker's makeup because I was too busy thinking about what it would feel like to have my face sliced open. Which was more effective for my cinematic experience???? you guys tell me.
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Bless you child.
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I see what you're saying about seeing what I said when I said I see what you're saying, so what I'm saying is you're right. Overall the effects are solid in TDK. Initially I jumped all over it for the effects nomination, but now I'm finding all sorts of shit that was CG and I never even knew. Maybe Spielberg should hang out with Nolan for a weekend and learn how to seamlessly integrate CG and practical without it being showy or cartoony and immediately pulling you out of what should have been a slam dunk return of a character we all love. P.S. Fuck you Spielberg.
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I can relate to Two-Face's struggle, because I once ate a bad apple and got tooth-ache.
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Then all would be right with the world.
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And then Danny to replace the apple.
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Not defending the poor CG in Crystal Skull, but I was surprised to find out (in the making of docs) how much of the sets were actually practical effects... like that retracting stairway that Indy and Shia LeCocksucker run down... that shit was all real. Even though it came off looking like bad CG. The only part that was all CG was at the end, when the circular room starts spinning and turns into bullshit.
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And Danny eating the apple.
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.....thats the whole point of the alien contraption to fling giant craters of bullshit the size of Cleveland-- at Korea.
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He's the one that Vern and Massa send their stories to and he posts them right? I remember reading that awhile back, he is like their higher up. What the fuck?
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is like Pirates:At Worlds End getting one for Davy Jones...which the...academy...did. Stoopid Academy Monkeys.
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Best CG character ever created. If that doesn't get an award for best special effects, I dunno what would.
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which Pirates and TDK were/are both up for.
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Davy Jones is the most believable CGI created character that shares the screen with real actors I've seen.
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Jan 23, 2009 1:43:20 PM CST
I love the way they incorporated Bill Nighy's performance
by mattmanreturns
Into the character. CG is best when it serves the actor. And the CG face just looks so tangible, not fake or fluffy like most CG.
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Was ruined by a pathetic character arc. The CGI was ace.
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To tell you the truth, I'm not sure why TDK was such a box office phenomenon. That's not true, I have some idea: I throw my hat in with it being because the film was not simply part of an established brand, but also a major summer sequel that had not only an incredibly strong marketing campaign, but the premature death of one of its stars to drive anticipation far beyond the level of a Spiderman or Pirates of the Caribbean sequels; the fact that it was released toward the end of a pretty meek summer allowed the hype to reach a fever pitch weeks before its release. Of course, it also had something going for it that people liked. I won’t go into that because I will feel too tempted to become critical of the film itself (which is not at all my intention). I don’t know why you’re so impressed by critical acclaim. I suppose you’re less concerned with it when it is centered around a film that you do not like. The fact is, you like TDK, and for some reason, you feel the need to have that emotional response justified or quantified. A lot of people saw it, and it grossed something like a trillion dollars. Not only that, but a bunch of critics (themselves people, too) responded relatively well in some cases and extremely well in others. There you have it, subjective justification and objective quantification. But what does any of this mean, other than a lot of people liked it, and that you can count yourself among them? Comparing the audience reaction or box office for something like TDK to something like (oh, let’s say) The Reader is just stupid. I haven’t seen The Reader, so I have no opinion as to whether it should be nominated or whatever. My point though is that even if TDK were absolutely terrible beyond belief, it still would have grossed more in it’s opening weekend than The Reader would in it’s entire run (even with award buzz). Further, comparing critical reaction to films like these is kind of silly. While there are plenty of Top 10 or Top 5 lists with both films, you can’t treat these lists as existing inside a vacuum. Critics approached both films with all sorts of prejudices and expectations already in place. As I said before, I think one of the things TDK had going for it was the benefit of pretty low expectations, which he generally exceeded. The funny thing is, when you read actual reviews of TDK, very few of them (even when they are from critics that put it in the top 3) are as glowing as you would expect. They praise the ambition of the filmmakers and say something about transcending genres, but they generally are positive reviews with a number of caveats, too many caveats, in the end, to warrant such a high place on the list. But that’s just me. I don’t really care what you like or what the critics like. I’m not moved by an argument that says I should like something because other people did or not because they didn’t. More than that, I really DO think these award shows are stupid, and couldn’t care less who gets recognized.
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in favor of The Reader, but you know what? I can watch it anytime I want in the comfort of my home, with my favorite libation, and enjoy it. Do I need validation to enjoy it? No.This is getting to be like Fox News not letting go that Bush is no longer president.
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Shouldabeens for TDK: Screenplay , Original Score, and Director but not best picture. I'm not sure about editing as in my limited knowledge, there are parts that are sheer genius and other parts that seem out of place by comparison.I'm also totally slacker as I haven't seen the bulk of these movies so I can't speak in terms of any comparison but I think the screenplay, music, and direction of TDK we're excellent and obviously (death or not) Ledger's performance was brilliant. And to those who think he's only getting it because he's dead...do you not get lost in his Joker performance and not even see Ledger anymore? Even the scene without makeup, it's not Ledger to me...and I love character acting so this his Joker is pure bliss for me. When I watch TDK, it's usually afterwards that I *remember* the actual human who played this genius "Agent of Chaos" (LOVE THAT!!!!) is no longer with us. Bittersweet to be sure.I'm also a huge 6FU fan and to see 'Dead Dad' (Richard Jenkins) get a nod is a great thing! He rules in every scene he is in for 6FU throughout all 5 seasons!And to turn the whole "movies about the holocaust or any Jew in pre-1960's Germany is a guaranteed nomination/win" notion...have there been movies about Jews specifically during the height of Nazism that didn't win? Outside of maybe 'Jakob the Liar'? Not trying to whip any political bullshit into this but maybe more of the Ben Stiller playing the retard and all of the sudden it's a "brilliant performance" as if the notion of playing a mentally handicapped person outweighs the resulting performance itself. In other words, is the idea, settings, and historical profundity enough to make any movie about anything Jewish-Holocaust related a 'shoo on' to win no matter what because people lose their perspective when faced with real historical precedent?
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At least she has some funny talkbacks from time to time.
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Jan 23, 2009 2:04:13 PM CST
BTW, I just realized that I still haven't heard one single word.
by derlanghaarige
...from Spike Lee about Tropic Thunder! I even googles, but didn't find anything. Could it be that Spike Lee seriously got the joke this time?
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I know some people will think me a silly fool for saying this. But I thought the scene where Master Oogway died and his body disintregrated into the grassy valley ahead of him was very beautiful. That is why I want Kung Fu Panda to win over wall-e. I love Pixar and Wall-e but that Panda kick assery just did it for me. Wall-e will win, though.
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your brother saw the trailer? that's all marketing and in no way the control of the director or anyone involved with the film..they'll put FROM THE WRITER OF FORREST GUMP to get asses in seats...had it been written by any other, we would not be arguing. BTW, have you've ever seen a trailer to a film and walked out afterwards blown away because it was not what you were expecting. If not, this will be your first
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Please don't kill me. I know I'm in the minority on this one. I thought the art style was gorgeous and the humor was great. I liked Wall-E, and I can recognize that it's probably the "better" movie... but Panda will get more repeat viewings from me.
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Heath Ledger did indeed disappear within the character. Of course, Nicholson had the disadvantage of being JACK, and his persona bled into his interpretation, and Ledger didn't have that disadvantage. What I felt when Ledger's Joker was on screen, was a sense of unpredictability. His phrasing and body language was so alien that you felt that an actual live wire was coursing through his body. There was a sense of actual danger in his character, that you seldom get in a villainous role. For that, and not the actor's tragic demise, I feel Ledger deserves the Oscar.
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White dude in black face is funny?
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.....it has a lot of support behind it actually. I have seen neither and can really give a fuck about animated films post Land Before Time.
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WTF? No Dark Knight love? I've always hated how the Oscars trash the popular films. I guess you can't be both popular and win awards. Ratings for the show were the worst in years and what do they do when the biggest film in a decade is released? Completely ignore it. (almost completely) Looks like ratings will be down again this year...
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Well a white dude getting a role that should clearly go to a black guy is a joke that Spike Lee should appreciate. Although, Spike's usually too busy being a hotheaded racist.
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I don't need my opinion validated, I just think TDK deserved a nomination. People don't like films because of hype, they don't give films glowing reviews based on hype, they like them because they like them whether good or bad. All hype does is influence people to see the film in the first place; the success (or lack thereof) is wholly a result of people's enjoyment of the film. Plenty of films are mega-hyped and result in trainwrecks -- remember The Phantom Menace? -- so it wasn't the hype that made people like it. It may have gotten them out to the theatres, but it is the quality of the film that made it a blockbuster hit that people are still talking about.That said, all art criticism is subjective -- all of it. It is impossible to be objective about art (as much as critics may try to convince themselves otherwise).Now I don't think that TDK was a perfect film, but it was pretty damn close. AND it was a much better film than, say, TITANIC which was, quite frankly, a ludicrously awful slice of hardcore mediocrity; a laughable, silly, insipid mess that made millions. Further, critical response was anemic -- basically it got a big "ok." So, how the hell did it win Best Pic? Who was giving out the blow jobs for that one? Finally, as I said before, I can see how TDK wouldn't have won, but it should have at least been nominated. And, again, I don't need the validation, I just think it deserved the nod.
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....but too obvious, too long. It was based on a gimmick and is in my opinion no way fucking near TDK.
And what a SURPRISE to see most nominations still, or about to hit cinemas. I hope the Academy choke on their fat payouts. -
Just too depressing. Like someone has previously said. I was almost positive that it would've gotten at least a nomination though. The nom would have been a win for that movie. I knew right after walking out that it wasn't going to get that much respect because of the depressingly down storyline. I was expecting it to be nominated in a few things but winning ZERO. However, the fact that it wasn't even nominated makes it more impressive to me. Look at previous years when some great movies were overlooked....Children of Men being one off the top of my head. I think Revolutionary Road will get some respect later but right now, Micheal Shannon will have to carry the weight. Funny thing is is that I'm hoping Brolin wins in that category, however, I would love Brolin OR Shannon to win.
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I was hoping for any of the 5 major ones for it
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Spielberg has been a pioneer of integrating effects well into his detailed and realistic scenes of action... the ufo's look in CE3K, T-Rex scene in Jurassic Park, the appearance of the tripod from the street in War of the Worlds, the beginning of Saving Private Ryan... Nolan doesn't even come close with that silly motorcycle and 3D vision stuff in Batman (that admittedly he was probably forced to include by big franchise comittee vote) The effects in Crystal Skull show more of the mark of Lucas's fantasy style... not Spielberg normally realistic-environment style of effects. When Spielberg seems interested in an action/effects scene and puts thought into it, the results are often breathtaking and feel more REAL.
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I absolutely agree. I still love The Berg, and I'm starting to get past my hatred over Indy IV. I was speaking specifically of the effects in TDK vs. Indy IV. Of course-- overall Spielberg is still the man. Don't take me as one of these Nolan fluffers. I think the guy is pretty mediocre to tell you the truth. TDK is the only film of his I've actually liked.
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When Cruise is running through the stores, and people are disintegrating around him, feels very real even though you know you're watching special effects. Something about Spielberg's filming style really gives his effects weight, even if the effect isn't that great on its own.
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I'm certainly not one to whine about seemingly offensive content. And I don't really give a fuck about anything involving Tropic Thunder. But it is sort of interesting to analyze what it is that people find funny about the Downey character. I actually think it would have been more interesting if he was actually a black guy and not a guy made to look like a black guy within the film.
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The jet pack chase in Minority Report is another great example of his staging. And the throwaway shot of the cooking burgers was a bonus.
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It really has no significant merit when it comes to how good a movie is. Citizen Kane didn't win best picture, yet is considered the greatest movie ever made. It's nice to have, but not necessary in the long term.
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is that he is so arrogant, so artistically sure of himself (and full of BS), is that, with the proper "modification" he could play a black character better than a black actor could.
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Jan 23, 2009 3:10:54 PM CST
Spike Lee was the first in line to call JarJar Binks racist.
by derlanghaarige
Well, not Jar Jar himself (If this would be Family Guy, we would now cut to a scene where Jar Jar says something like: "Meesah hatey stupid N*****" and Qui-Gon looks at him in shock.) but he seriously believed that the Man/Fish/Frog/whatever it was hybrid was supposed to be a blackface minstrel. So I wondered why he was so quiet about Tropic Thunder. He didn't even say anything after RDJ got nominated! (Okay, to be fair, he probably will on Monday.)
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Irish. Downey made him an Aussie because he felt he couldn't do an Irish accent justice. Was this Stiller's dig at Bono? Stiller has spoofed Bono and HIS arrogance for years...
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Jan 23, 2009 3:11:35 PM CST
I really liked that weird pulse gun in Minority...
by dannyglovers_dickblood
....the way they fly when hit, and that cool ripple when the pulse fires. It was simple but very very well done. I think it might be my favorite futuristic gun.
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Anybody who's read Huckleberry Finn knows where Lucas got inspiration for Jar Jar.
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Jan 23, 2009 3:15:19 PM CST
thats like those dumb shits that say Mark Twain....
by dannyglovers_dickblood
...was racist, when all the fucker ever did was highlight the absurdity of judging people by their color.
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How they scan your eye and then apply you to the ad. That's some scary shit that they'll probably attempt to do one day.
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was based on Ahmed Best's performance and vocal work? Remember the hubbub when it was reported Dino DeLaurentis was auditioning black men to play King Kong?
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...that was an alien from a swamp planet and spoke in a made up accent?
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He was simply portraying how a slave talked back then. Which Lucas then used for Jar Jar's dialect...
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also. Instead of "don't taser me, bro" or rubber bullets or whatever, a weapon that makes the suspect vomit uncontrollably? Messy but brilliant.
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phenomenon was that it is the first movie to deal with the post 9/11 world. It asks what is the correct way to fight terrorism using a guy dressed up as a bat and other dressed up as clown.
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Well a form of that is already happening online. When you order something and companies want you to check off your interests so they can send you shit you enjoy, or the smart search enging that will show you ads along the screen based of what you've recently been searching for. I know with gmail, you email someone and say "Bring the whiskey!" and pretty soon ads start running along the screen advertising not just alcohol but specifically whiskey. So that is a system that scans your emails for product mentions. Soon there will be a massive database of this to cater personally to every customer. Moriarty's hitfix forecast bullshit reminds me of that too. How the calendar starts to adapt to your likes and then only advertises upcoming events you would be intersted in.
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Should've got nominated for Iron Man. Disagree all you want, he embodied that character as much as, if not more, than Heath. And he did it without face covering make-up.
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Jan 23, 2009 3:22:02 PM CST
The sick stick is indeed bad ass, and it would work.
by dannyglovers_dickblood
What a great method of crowd control, people are fucking with you and you just put that thing against there neck and POW!! Lunch is served.
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Did AICN even review it? Is it worth checking out on the screen, rental or public library?
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Maybe the first dressed up in a cape and cowl..
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Oh please. Terrorism was around long before 9/11. The Joker killed hundreds of people in the first Batman in '89. That was a huge success because it was a GOOD FUCKING MOVIE. The Dark Knight's success isn't some huge mystery either... it was both entertaining and dramatic, and people love tragedy (Don't argue this, Titanic is the highest grossing movie of all time).
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What?!! Lucas is no racist, he is a sex addict. Look it up!
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And Batman Returns had Penguin suicide bombers. Respect
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in its purest form.
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Hopefully Daniel Day Lewis runs out and clobbers him in the mush with the Golden Bowling Pin he won last year.
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...would be a huge hit on every party! :D
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Set Mickey Rourke on him.
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feel the clinch...
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Jan 23, 2009 3:40:02 PM CST
Danny, I say once Seth "Felch" Rogen mentions your name..
by stuntcock mike
the black box is deserved.
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When most posters on this site were tripping over themselves over Pitt and The Assassination Of Jesse James as the best in the year, and sorely overlooked...yadda yadda yadda
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I'm kidding of course, just wanted to fuck with you all seeing as how there's always some fucking nerd who swears it can't be real. Carry on.
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I was gonna say sorry dude, your wife has been lying to you. She is not really cumming, just pissing on your face.
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Oh fuck that Fozzy Bear motherfucker. The site wouldn't put me up there because I would implement a NO JUDD APATOW REVIEW policy to counter Harry's childish NO UWE BOLL REVIEW policy.
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I find it hilarious how the Apatow crew has now been Hollywoodized to the extent whereby Seth Rogen isn't even close to being one of us anymore.
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....still try to hammer it in your heads "Oh look at Seth Rogen at Comic Con, he is buying action figures!! He is one of us!! He is just like us!!" I hate that shit. Using phrases like "HE REALLY GEEKED OUT," as a bonding device of some sort. Seth Rogen would charge you to drink his piss at this point. Don't think he's just some average dude buying comics while he rolls up to his mansion in Bel Aire.
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on a daily basis, and don't see a dime from it.
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Jan 23, 2009 4:00:13 PM CST
not that there is anything wrong with that.....
by dannyglovers_dickblood
....he can enjoy his money. He earned it. His hookers are bought and paid for by the cash he raked in from impressionable douchebags that populate this site. What I'm trying to say is....people go ahead and enjoy your Seth Rogens and Shia LaBeouf, but please for the love of Buddha pay for another movie and sneak in. Or better yet, download them illegally in the comfort of your own home.
Love,
Danny -
The same with Kevin Smith - I think it's cool he communicates with his fans and all, but he isn't one of us. He hasn't been since he made Clerks. I'd just like these guys to admit that they aren't geeks anymore.
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I was a fan of character acting before I even knew what it was. Nicholson is a classic method actor and, if you notice, much like the bulk of method actors, if they're not absolutely brilliant, what you get is Tom Cruise playing himself or Jack Nicholson playing an exagerated version of himself. I saw the same Nicholson Joker in The Departed with Jack's aging and erratic Irish mob boss. The exact same. I've seen a number of Ledger performances and nothing is even on the same planet as his performance in TDK.Now that I think about it, I think maybe TDK should have been nominated but I don't think it should win BP and I haven't seen hardly any of the others up for this spot. I say that because there are a couple spots where the movies slides down beneath the sheer awesomeness that it is and becomes somewhat mediocre...but only for maybe 5 to 7 minutes total screen time. Ironically, the bulk of the weak posts are Bale's performance as Bats towards the end of the flick (when in the suit).But you are absolutely correct..Ledger made this Joker simply one of the greatest screen villains I have ever seen. Even better than pre-"prequel" Darth Vader. I'll admit to the tragedy of his passing possibly coloring my take on Ledger's Joker as being the greatest screen villain ever but not remotely with his performance. He deserves not only the nomination, he deserves to win. And if he was alive and insisting on not doing the Joker again for fear of loosing that magic, he'd still win and he'd still deserve it. He took literally decades of history and the most extreme fanboy schizophrenia with being pro or con on every freakin nuance of the DC character and Ledger as the choice for this titular role and completely defied expectations and made the character all his own. We will never see a comic book movie villain that good again. Not with Rourke in IM2 or Hoffman as Penguin in the next Nolan Bat's flick or anything else.
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I'd stop being a geek if someone paid me a mill to write a script.
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ORLY? YRLY.
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I disagree. While I think Ledger was fantastic, back when Superman came out everyone raved about Hoffman... then Nicholson trounced that... and then Cox trounced him in X-Men II... and now Ledger has trounced Cox in TDK. We're seeing an evolution in how people approach the roles, and in four or five years someone is going to come along and take a role as seriously as Ledger did, and fucking nail it. It won't diminish Ledger's acting, it's just the way the writing evolves.
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He proves that with every episode of Robot Chicken.
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Just with better and more expensive shit.
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That he does - but Seth isn't about overexposing himself. He was on Buffy for less two seasons... he rarely does blockbusters... he voices Family Guy because it's fun... and he does Robot Chicken for pure enjoyment. He could make a living as 'geeky guy number five' in every third Blockbuster, but he doesn't. The thing about a Seth Rogen is he's ridiculously overexposed. You can't escape him. He wants a commercial career. And the more he reaches for it, the less approachable he is.
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Yeah... I rescind my post. I'm too fucking goofy to be mainstream.
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I know she's female and attractive, so therefore not a traditional geek... but she's still approachable. At the moment.
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Milk that shit for all it's worth while you can. He's only got one character (himself) and that's not gonna last forever. It never does.
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But already it's wearing thin because he's in so much. At this rate, in ten years he'll be attempting a Travolta like comeback.
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He wrote/co-wrote/starred/co-starred/co-produced 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad, Pineapple Express and Drillbit Taylor, all in a 4 to 5 year period. Thats like walking up to 5 slot machines and hitting jackpot each time. Will his star fade? Do they still make Cheech and Chong movies...?Although if they had the right script, a new Cheech and Chong movie would ROCK!!
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Even with the wrong one it'd make money. Cheech has name value from Lost and all those Rodriguez flicks, and there's curiousity value for the two of them to reteam.
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Now I'm fucking depresed.
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a dvd re-release of 'Barfly'. I've been dying to see that flick.
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Look on the bright side, I'm sure you'll outlive him. And chances are you don't have to pay women to fuck you. And you have friends that aren't just using you to borrow cash or score coke. You're doing okay.
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and I think there is still a bit of bad blood between them. Maybe because Marin has made a conscious effort to break away from the Cheech persona, and thats all Tommy has to hold on to.
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Also, you won't suffer a backlash like he does when people get sick of humour revolving around smoking pot. Z&M was stage-one of the audience turning on him.
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not truly depressed. But I appreciate it.
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Now if you'll excuse me, I have to try and articulate my Changeling reaction for a review.
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Jan 23, 2009 4:49:27 PM CST
Zedd.... Dustin |Hoffman was in Supes?
by i_am_not_the_droid_you_are_looking_for
Think you mean Hackman, mate.
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If melissa leo wins. kate along with everyone will be saying Fuck. and who the fuck is that. or Melissa who?
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Jan 23, 2009 4:56:48 PM CST
Rogen is only doing what anyone would do
by i_am_not_the_droid_you_are_looking_for
Milking his success for all its worth. He's the Richard Marx of cinema. He'll pump out a few hits then fade away and write other peoples flicks. Good on him for getting the bucks while he can.
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Sweet Christ that would be a hideous love-child between Hoffman and Hackman. It would look like the beast at the end of Alien Resurrection, but with a bigger nose.
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Jan 23, 2009 4:58:18 PM CST
Actually, I really enjoy watching Rogen/Apatow fare....
by stuntcock mike
when I download it for free.
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I'm sick of hearing this whole "just because it's dark it isn't deep" bullshit. TDK is deep and meaningful. Batman started as a comicbook that appealed to young boys. It became internationally recognised from the silly, camp Adam West series. Compared to other comicbook films, TDK is deep. Name one film like it which deals with the topic of being a hero with as much maturity. In TDK Batman isn't presented as the guy who swings in on a web to save the day. He isn't Ironman, Superman or any of the other overt heroes. In TDK, we learn that to be a true hero takes more than rescuing people and standing proudly to be admired. Batman is whatever the city needs to survive. So he's willing to sacrifice happiness and his reputation to save Gotham. Name one superhero film that deals with a topic with as much maturity. Fuck, name one film that deals with the same theme of being a hero. I'm not saying it is the most poignant, idea ever created but to say this film isn't deep is just fucking retarded. People just like to attack a successful film and think they are above the subject material. TDK is awesome and a lot more meaningful than the manipulative, contrived tearjerker Button hole.
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So Melissa Leo and Richard Jenkins get voted in for years of character actor service, and scoring in a lead role. There is no way in hell either will win, and I will eat my severed foot if either do.
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is without question is the scene with the guy running with a digital cam corder. he gets blasted and you see his death on the digital cam corder screen. that is the hall mark of virtouso filmmaker and the creepy scene with Dakota fanning at the riverbank. the rest of the film became the tom cruise show.
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A dwarf that shouts a lot.First thing that sprang to mind.
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because you and I will never agree on TDK. Which is the ONLY point you've made that I do agree with you on. The majority of fanboys, critics and average, movie-goers have spoken with their words and wallets. The votes are in and you lost the argument and the war of words. If TDK wasn't a cut above your average, "comic book" movie, if it didn't have depth, soul, a superior cast, script, score, etc. why all the repeat love from the various and different sources mentioned above? This film appeals to a wide spectrum of individuals precisely b/c it has depth and works on many levels if one chooses to notice them and scratches the surface. Or, they can choose to lump TDK in with the Hulks, Daredevils, Ghost Riders, and even the previous, nippled Batman flicks and remain deaf from having their heads burried in the sand. A movie that asks the characters and audience to question what is morality? What is good? What is truly evil? How far would you go to save someone you love? Do the ends ever justify the means? What does it mean to be a hero? Is there something even more noble than being a hero? Does the Joker make convincing arguments? Is he really insane or actually quite intelligent and sane in an insane world? Would you cross the line, betray your conscience once of twice for the greater good? These aren't "deep" questions and subject matter normally absent from a comic book movie? TDK is a superior, crime drama that just happens to have a couple of characters in costumes. Batman and the Joker could have been a noble but conflicted cop and a brilliant but disturbed criminal. It's a little sad that you don't get it and 95% of the rest of the population does, but maybe in a warped way it gives you a sense of pride to be in the minority. If that makes you feel cool and special, so be it. You're entitled to you're opinion, even though you're wrong. Kind of how most Americans arrived at the conclusion that Bush was a dumb-ass sooner or later but a few still defend him now that the facts are in and the deck is stacked against him. Please tell me you're not a Bush defender as well necgray--lol!
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Who just happens to have an entire military industrial complex at his disposal.
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That bit makes no sense because the aliens have knocked out everything electrical. Therefore the camcorder shouldn't work.If memory serves.
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My bad. Even if Hoffman could've nailed Luthor too.
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You want to hate on DD? Then you better hate the comic-book. Because that WAS the comic-book. God, I am so sick of the DD hatred. It IS a good comic-book film.
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I'm sick of people putting DD in the same context as Elektra and Ghost Rider. It's idiocy.
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As a film, yeah? As an experience, no. I'm a hardcore DD fan, and when I went to see that back in 2002 it was one of the coolest experiences of my life.
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I couldn't give a fuzzy rats cunt what the blood from any old dick thinks.
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..for synechdoche, ny in this thread. best movie i saw this year by a mile and then some.
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TDK had a few good scenes, but was basically a bloated, boring movie. Best Supporting for HL and best makeup I can see. But best picture? Best direction? Really? I remember when TBers a few years back were heralding Cabin Fever as the return of "real" horror. It wasn't. It was the return of bad horror. Same with TDK. Ironman was a great movie. TDK, what is the word I'm looking for, on the tip of my tongue...Oh, yeah -- sucked. Congrats to Richards Jenkins, a fine actor.
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Nicely said. How lucky we all are that someone like Nolan is behind Batman now. How can people not be happy with a director who is willing to shoot things for real rather than cram every corner with terrible CGI? Or a director who flies his whole cast and crew over to Hong Kong to shoot a guy base jumping off the side of one of the world's tallest buildings just to get one shot? Or a guy who is willing to flip a semi-trailer on its head in the middle of a narrow Chicago street? A director who gives us a Batman who is willing to break a guy's legs for information and surveillance the entire city to get the job done? A director who hires some of the best actors in Hollywood for minor supporting roles? Fuck, when was the last time ANY director went to the lengths of transforming a comicbook character into a realistic setting where his enemy is a frightening, warped mirror image of everything this character stands for. Meanwhile paralleling the story with a man who becomes violently shocked into despair and nihilism after a shock chance of fate destroys everything he cares for. People who don't like this or can't see the depth deserve Arnold in a Mr Freeze costume. They deserve nipple costumes and butt close-ups. Because Nolan delivered the goods here and he should be praised for these efforts not flamed by nitpickers who think they are somehow above the material.
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Every comic-book movie has an enemy whose a frightening, warped mirror image of everything a main character stands for. That most of them are shit has nothing to do with it. And DD did the Agent of Chaos first, with Bullseye. FTW.
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and least we've established you're a short-attention-spanned tasteless fuck
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via DarkCampaign.com
hey — not sure who to address this to as it looks like a collective effort, but I just wanted to pass along my thanks.
It's truly humbling that you guys would take the time and effort to try to get the film recognized. I, like you, was disappointed that Chris didn't get some recognition this morning, but for Heath and so many of the people who worked so hard on this thing to get nominated is thrilling.
Any nominations for a comic book movie is a thing of beauty no matter how you slice it, and that takes the sting out a bit. Besides, I've been to the big show before, and, like any of these things, it's a little disappointing. Did you know it's not even an open bar once the show starts? At least this time I would have remembered to bring a little cash so I could buy myself a drink after losing.
The best part of this experience is seeing other people getting passionate about the film the way that we did. It has been a truly incredible experience. So thank you again.
best,
jonah nolan
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Colin Farrell - chilling. The brutality and humour in his role - his desire for a costume - the violence -- he deserved an Oscar.
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You can feel MSJ was showing us the depths of depravity... how Bullseye was evil not for power, but to change the status quo. To show society it's true face.
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Where he's in the hospital... MSJ is showing us that you cannot destroy evil. Classic subtext.
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Even today it gives me a chill. That laugh... that damn laugh. He shattered the glass ceiling, allowed Ledger something to work off.
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Bullseye got his own classic line. Let's bring on the pain. Let's bring on the noise.
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Bullseye didn't need an explosion to take out the heroes love... he used fucking magic.
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You're good, baby. I'll give you that. But me? I'm magic.
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Pah. That pencil trick is just mindless violence. Real magic is being kicked off a bike and somehow not getting a broken neck. It's not a continuity error or a plot-hole - it's Bullseye being awesome.
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Bullseye survived a far larger fall than Harvey Dent. Because he's magic. And CF deserved an Oscar.
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What won in 2002?
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Return Of The King? Return of The Klusso more like. DD should've had that wrapped.
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Fuck Eddie Murphy. I don't know whether that story is true, but the fact that I consider it within the realm of possibility makes me a little sick.
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I read that whole Daredevil/Bullseye/Elektra story arc when I was a kid and I never thought I'd see it realized on the big screen. It was very faithful to the spirit of that story arc (yeah a few things are different, but they have to be). I'm not sure why the movie gets dumped on so much, and I don't really care. I'm just happy the movie got made.
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I think it's a tremendous film. The above is hyperbole, sure - but I think stuff like MCD as Kingpin is up there with the best comic-book casting.
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If you ever get chronically bored, I started writing a Television format version of DD for fun.
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maybe you misread me before - i think the tranny WAS killed - its easy for me to believe someone with murphy's money and influence could have a hooker killed and made to look like an accident - am i nuts? - why is that impossible?
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i understand you dont like KOTCS - but to be fair - the fx in indy movies were never intended to appear "real" - even before the advent of cgi - all the fx in the 1st 3 indy movies looked like fx - sometimes a movie calls for fx that look better than real - and by better i mean impossible in the real world - perfect - as in caught perfectly on camera and looking great from any angle - like the stuff in LOTR - the realness comes into play in terms of how it photographs (virtually speaking) - how well does it inhabit the real space in the movie - im babbling now
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Does the Academy have any credibility left? I agree with most of Harry's verdicts, though. I have seen most of these movies (even Milk), and these were hardly the best five films of the year. There must have been a whole lot of politicing going on -- because these nominations suck!
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Because I'm bored.
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Yeah, those are all questions that the movie asks. Sure. And probably more. But there's a difference between asking a question and containing depth. I could ask you moral questions all day long, but that doesn't mean that I actually have answers or depth. It means I can ask questions. If someone hands you a jar labelled "Grape Jelly", that doesn't mean there's ACTUALLY grape jelly in it. It's just a jar. Am I being too obtuse for you? To put it another way, just because you sit in a booth at Starbucks with a copy of Proust in one hand and an espresso in the other, that doesn't make you an intellectual. And you should be fully aware by this point that I'm arguing from a "in the minority" POV. I understand that the vast majority of people to whom I speak are in disagreement. However, since we're in the talkback for the Oscars, and the Academy chose to leave TDK out of Best Picture and (more to my great relief) Best Screenplay categories, I think it's only appropriate that I point out how much I'm not the only one. And I love the people who would argue that TDK should be nominated from a populist POV, but not Titanic. Which made more money. What do you say to that, CellarDweller? How do you feel about Titanic? I mean, according to your logic, Titanic must also be a great film. The thing that kills me about arguing with people like you, raving lunatic fanboys like you, is that I LIKE THE FUCKING MOVIE! I do! But it is nowhere, nohow, absolutely NOT close to Best Picture of 2008. And it has a HUGELY flawed script. Which frankly many people can overlook if they're enjoying themselves. Which is fine by me, I don't begrudge anyone having a good time. But it's just a good time.
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Please, for the love of all that is holy, define for me what you think "depth" means. And then apply that definition to The Dark Knight. And THEN tell me why you think that "depth" alone qualifies TDK for more critical consideration than any other film containing the same or similar "depth". Oh, and just to be more hyperbolic: There was more "depth" in the shitpuddle under the outhouses in Slumdog than in the entire running time of TDK.
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Most were made on computers and rapid prototyped into reality, all of the clown thug robbery masks were made on a computer using a 3d cgi program like zbrush to make them perfectly symmetrical and then they were rapid prototyped on a 5 axis cnc milling machine in high denisty foam molded and cast in vynl. All of batmans costume was designed on a computer to be perfectly symmetrical. The tie that the joker wears was a limited run tie that sells for $125 bucks (suit not cheap wasn't a joke) the entire suit sans the tie and the suspenders and socks, were hand made. The silicone appliance used to make ledgers scars was self adhered to his face and the edges were so paper thin that it blended right in with little too no cover used. Famous prop replica nuts over at the RPF have been tolling away at trying to make a perfect match to the jokers outfit, since the original trailer launch. They have actual high def photos of the fucking screenused costume that toured brazil and still they don't have it down exactly. Lots of pioneered costume work done in TDK more than was used to make Vaders mask symmetrical for Revenge Of The Sith. I like your insight sometimes DGDB, honestly but your wrong on this one man. TDK did new things, and pioneered some shit to make some of the costumes in TDK.
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you say tomato i say tow-mah-tow
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when "Annie Hall" beat "Star Wars." TDK not getting nominated for BP or BD just continues the Academy's long slide into irrelevance. I've said my piece, so Academy, you can go ahead and EAT ALL THE DICKS now.
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but yeah - i agree - the oscars are bull shit
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Annie Hall?.. good movie, but its no Star Wars
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Jan 23, 2009 10:37:09 PM CST
It's good DK wasn't nomd; it'll make Nolan make a 3rd film
by librerarian
I enjoyed DK a lot. It's easily the best Batman film yet made, largely because of Ledger's performance. But I disagree with the people who consider it the end all be all of Batman films or comic book films in general. . . it wasn't THAT great. Many Batman comics out there tell much better Batman stories than the Dark Knight did. A Dark Knight Returns shot-for-shot Sin City-type film would be much better than the Dark Knight. . . we all know it. As satisfying as Nolan's sequel was, it isn't an insurmountable work like Citizen Kane or something. . . so, maybe getting shut out of the Oscars will humble Nolan enough to finish the trilogy like he should. It annoys me that he's considering not doing the third (and he said similar stuff after Batman Begins, which would've made no sense). . . DK is clearly the second act of a three act play. He owes the fans the third part of a trilogy and shouldn't leave it in the hands of someone else. Maybe now he can put the idea of "quitting while you're ahead" behind him, go for the gold, and finish the story he began.
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the balding curly haired keaton ironically has the better voice than the lung-cancer patient/male model in TDK.
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in some ways better - his character really took a journey - and seemed more central to the story - Dent/2face left a much bigger impression on me than Joker or Batman - Aaron Eckhart should be a much bigger star than he is - hes got the looks (but not a pretty boy) and the talent
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SWITCHBACK!!! Used in almost as many trailers as Clint Mansell's score for Aronofsky's films.
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Almost as much as JimmyJoe RedSky does at figuring out movies. He's a poor mans Thomas Jane, he's had one good movie. In the Company of Men. Two Face was lame, his change to a villain made Tommy Lee's Two Face look Shakespearean in comparison. Oldman was the best supporting actor in TDK. He grounded the movie, and he is by far the best crazy ass mother fucker in the group and he had to play the only normal guy in the movie. If Oldman had been The Joker (five years ago as well), maybe the Joker would've been scary and felt really crazy. Not just a bad guy after John McClane.
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Blah blah blah computer effects of the costumes in TDK. How movies like Milk and Revolutionary Road got nominated for costume over Hellboy 2??? Really? Granted most of Hellboys stuff didn't come from a computer but it was amazing, I mean shit the Academy even gave 12 Monkeys a best costume nom, but it lost to Restoration? I don't get how period pieces get sooo much love for costume. Really Milk? I could have made the costumes for that movie, and Revolutionary Road? Ok everybody were your dad's suit to work today. Or watch Mad Men and pick something you like from that and wear that. Restoration? Go look at some old paintings and make those clothes again. Movies like Hellboy 2 where they just came up with that shit out of their heads takes a little more talent.
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He is in love with a black woman, a succesful investment expert, whom he has been dating for years!!! Both are good friends with Robin Quivers, from The Howard Stern Show, BTW. He is also a supporter of Obama, and was at the inaugural.Lucas may have sold-out for toy sells, and he may be a bastard in not understanding his fans...or protecting the wonderful work, which is found in the first two Star Wars films, but he is no racist...he just made 4 out of 6, bad Star Wars films...and that is no reason to call him a racist, just a fallible human being...for not making better films. Well, at least we got two classic Star Wars films out of him.
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Batman Forever was nominated for an Oscar, deservedly so.
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Wall-E being nominated for Best Achievement in Sound and Best Achievement in Sound Editing is really a nomination in Best Actor - Wall-E and Best Actress - Eve?
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Really predictable. Any film claimed to be deep is can easily be dismissed as being superficial. By deep we mean that it touches people on a deep level, emotionally. Deep in that it presents characters who are complex and pensive. Deep in that it deals with mature ideas, themes and characters rather than simply splashing wiz bang special effects on the screen with one-dimensional characters. But I already anticipate your response. TDK doesn't have any of those things? Guess it was a fluke that it tricked all the critics, fans and movie-goers and is one of the most successful films of all time.
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Research has shown that most people have unconscious racist stereotypes running around in their noggins. That's just life. Lucas' racism just happened to unintentionally burst forth when he was making TPM. Now that doesn't mean he is a bad guy. He's a normal human whose racist thoughts, like most of us, are not consciously accessible most of the time. Being aware of these inclinations is more important than the facade of pretending we don't have them. At least then we can deal with them in a mature way.
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This is an article from The Toronto Star that I found quite interesting:
http://www.thestar.com/Entertainment/article/575846
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John Williams wasn't nominated in 1994, 2003, 2006, 2007 or this year. This wasn't the first year since 1992 he wasn't nominated.
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...but that is with everything, from gender, to sexual orientations, religion, and so on...but when you are openly in love with a woman of another color, I think it serves to show that the critiques as directed by Lucas bashers do not apply here.
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For Eastwood not to get a nod at all is a sin......Next to SLUMDOG, TORINO was the best movie i had the privilage of seeing last year.. This is coming from a fanboy to the umteenth degree and no amount of argument can convince me that dark knight or iron man or tropic thunder was a better movie....Eastwood was robbed on at least 3 accounts......now get off my lawn........
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A shitty TV pilot and an even shittier retro nostalgia flick noteworthy only for some massive tits. Yes, you have no taste, or a massive troll with a personal vendetta against Nolan. Perhaps you have real conviction behind your opinions, in which case, dude...You have fucking godawful taste. As for ratings...well, yeah. Your nomination list excludes both the most critically acclaimed films of the year and the most financially successful, catering to exactly...No one. Plus the show is boring as fuck. They need to speed it up. Or show more clips from the films (after all, the fucking thing is a promotinal tool) and less bullshit boring musical numbers skits and less interactive games like showing dead people on a big screen and seeing who gets the biggest applause. For the dude who said No Country wasn't a classic...Give it a few years. It was also the best film of its year, in a year filled with amazing films. Unlike this year. Slumdog will probably get it, even though it's a pretty average movie. If Button gets it, it will be the worst choice since Shakespear In Love. Only Shakespear was a better movie.
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I'm probably the only person who wouldnt go out and buy a Spielberg movie. Yeah they're watchable whenever they're on TV but i wouldnt actually waste money to buy his movies. And i LOVE scifi/fantasy, just not his brand. I liked Berg when he was doing the raw and gritty straight-to-the-point movies like Duel and Jaws. When he started going into his "childlike wonder" phase i just tuned out with that preachy shit. Historical Berg is more viewable but the historical topics he covers are not my cup of tea, slaves and holocaust movies, boring and tired, predictable. Even Private Ryan i have to keep the sound down during the talking scenes because the dialogue is corny n nauseating. The Berg is actually my LEAST favorite of the 70s breed of directors (yeah duel/jaws is it)
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The Coen's best film ever (yes, more than Fargo). Last year's Oscars were the only decent ones in years. This year, they have hit an all time low. Oscar bait in every category.
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Budget - $78 million Worldwide: $179,179,718 Add in DVD, it made an okay profit.
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should've been the first comic-book villain to get an Oscar nom.
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Bike - fall - no broken neck? Magic.
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Its was almost like there was a conspiracy. All the people and all the films that were nominated won something. it was that boring and predictable. and by conspiracy I mean its as the academy leaked the results to the press and told the press to be quiet. no shocks, no upsets.
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Colin Farrell never got an Oscar Nom for Daredevil. Ludicrous, Oscars holding back the Irish man.
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I mean come on. You are talking about the same people who didn't clap when Charlton Heston's image was shown. What more proof does one need that Hollywood has lost its collective mind!?
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Yeah, but it's okay to give Polanski multiple Oscars for The Pianist? Fuck-tards.
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to celebrate oscars 80th birthday. they omitted Whoppie Goldberg from the list of best supporting actors montage. she was rightly furious. idiots
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best supporting actress montage. She was furious.
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whoopie goldberg.
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Assholes. You gave her the award, go fuck yourselves if you retroactively want to change that.
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I refuse to believe Crash, Titanic and Forrest Gump got ANY fucking Oscars.
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And one to Colin Farrell. Who cares if it was released in a different year - give him his due as a true Agent of Chaos.
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It just wasn't. It's very entertaining, but hardly worthy of oscar gold, for picture, that is.
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You are immature in the way you speak...as well as your attacks. My choices in cinema and television are solid. What agenda could I have against Nolan, other than the fact that he makes weak films? I don't know that man, or anything about his life. He is not controversial, I just find him to be a pedestrian filmmaker. His Batman films are weak, as wasThe Prestige...and what I saw of his first film. But back to Batman. When you can be bested by Batman cartoons, you know there is a problem??? Those Batman cartoons that came out in the 90s are brilliant...and a very good filmmaker should have been able to either equal, or best them, given the format of film, and the budget, instead...we got Batman Begins and TDK. Look at TDK...cut out all the Batman scenes, and just focus on Bruce Wayne, Alfred, Rachel, Dent, Commissioner Gordon, and you have nothing of a movie. It is horrible dramatically, and just plain badly written. Bruce Wayne spends the entire movie in a suit muttering things about justice...and saying Rachel, "I care about you?" He is standing around, or sitting, in a business suit, and doing much of nothing else. Most of the scenes aren't even complete scenes, but rather, red herring filler scenes, placed in between the action. What the hell is that??? This is the laziest movie ever written.I didn't like Iron Man either...but if it had a more handsome budget, and strove to be a little harder and deeper on a emotional level, in term of relationships...it would have completely towered over TDK. As it is, from the stand point of screen writing, including story, and dialogue, it puts Nolan, his brother, and Goyer to shame, and as I said, it was a weak film...but certainly better than the entertainment-less and self important TDK.
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you correctly predict what a mostly predictable accademy will choose, you however did not correctly predict what the best choices should have been... it's time real movie watchers, not the art house wine and cheese hippies, took back the movie awards.
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Don't get me wrong, i like independent movies, but most of these highly forgetable pieces of art are not the cream of the crop. You know Dark Knight belongs there, you know Grand Torino belongs there, you know In Bruges belongs there, you know Nolan and Eastwoold are two of the best five directors out there right now and just made some of their best films. You know this man....
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Anything that Kate the soft core porn queen Winslet screws like a whore in will win an award!
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dawes and that stupid letter subplot. TDK was over stuffed story subplots. They screwed up Lucius fox character. He gave bruce his weapons and designed the batsuit, the bat car, the bat pod bike thing and then suddenly he is not to be trusted. bs.
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brendan gleeson proved why he is Irelands finest character actor. The only flaws in the movie were you never found out why Fiennes wanted to kill farrell. or why he hated gleeson's character so much. There was not much background character to Fiennes character. The ending of the movie was weak. Gleesons demise was superb. and bloody. and very well shot. Farrell was brilliant. I loved the butter wouldnt melt in his mouth vibe. But my main criticism of the movie was all the stuff with the fake movie. it just bogged the movie down. a bit like the troll city Hellboy 2. I stopped watching hellboy 2 because that scene went on so long.
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Taken with liam Neeson. What racist film. I am suprised that it was written by Luc Besson. He must really hate algerian and the french.
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The India musical SLUMDOG will get Best Picture, Danny Boyle-Best Director, Ledger-Best Supporting Actor. A tossup between between Rourke and Penn for Actor and Streep for Actress. There. It's all politics and money and less so how good a flick is. Now, unless you're a chick or a gay dude who'll watch for the designer dresses and Hugh Jackman, there's no need to watch the AA's.
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I love cheese, but wine...sorry, I don't drink??? I love art, but it has to say something of relevance to justify being made. TDK says nothing but, "Cue more explosions. please!!!". Benjamin Button...on the other hand, says..."You only learn how much you love someone, when they are gone"...and that is a very powerful message, indeed...and thus, the vast difference between both films.
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for every year that he "ran", he was nominated...it goes without saying that you need to write a score to be nominated
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2005-munich and memoirs of a geisha 2004-harry potter 3 2002-catch me if you can 2001-AI and harry potter 1 2000-the patriot 1999-angela's ashes 1998-saving private ryan 1997-amistad 1996-sleepers 1995-nixon and sabrina 1993--schindler's list 1991-JFK. thus ends the streak..he made film scores in 92. 2007,2006,2003, 1994 he did not..it goes even further..a pretty good record for a damn fine composer!
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of all people on the systemic prejudice TDK faced. It can easily be the Oscar stuff as well.
From E! Online: "From E! Online, a damning indictment of the prejudice toward TDK not just on the Academy side:
From E! Online: One SAG voter, who served on the awards' nominating committee, uses a gardening term — taproots, as in the stubborn roots that keep a plant planted — to explain why The Dark Knight didn't take hold.
"There's a lot of taproots," the voter says, "and they just won't shift, and they think it should be more like a movie like Doubt."
"Doubt, up for five Oscars, is up for five SAGs, including Motion Picture Cast."
I suspect there will be some serious headhunting in SAG over that quote, but for somebody to go on the record and say that indicates all you need to know about how utterly fraudulent this awards season has become. I want Kate and Heath to win, and I'll watch it on YouTube the following day. ABC, through no fault of its own, will not get one second of me watching the Oscars. -
I don't mean to say that you need to have validation in the literal sense. I'm not saying that you wouldn't like it or that you like it more or less based on critical reaction or box office numbers. What I meant to be saying is that you seem to believe box office numbers and critical reaction mean something in and of themselves. In the end, the total gross of the film and the general reaction mean a lot of things with regard to who among cast and crew will find work next year and how much they can expect to be paid for said work, but they mean very little with regard to whether the film is 'good' or not. It just means people liked it. Even if those people are paid to give their opinions, they're people nonetheless. In short, their opinions mean just as much as mine, or yours. Which is to say, not very much in the grand scheme of things. People can disagree in the way you and I clearly do. I don't know whether I agree with the Academy voters or not. I do know that I couldn't care less who they nominate and give their little trinkets to.
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Isn't he dating some Black Chick? ;D
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Those two have been together for several years now. Lucas, that lucky dog. People in love are blessed.
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not even best actor benecio del toro.
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...still 'tarded! With every post, you prove my point in a round-about way. You clearly posses an inferior intellect. 'Yawn.' Thanks though; since reading your posts, I've been saving money on sleeping pills. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! P.S. Not a raving fan-boy. I haven't read a comic book in years and would think TDK deserved a Best Picture Oscar even if it didn't have Batman, The Joker or Two-Face in it. Titanic? Excellent movie. Not perfect. Not as good as TDK, but deserving on most of the awards it won. Let the feeble arguments commence...
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SWITCHBACK! Huh? I don't get it. Is that a song? A portion of a movie score? A movie with Jean Claude Van Dammit? Thanks for giving me credit that I live and breathe film. I know a fair amount, but not everything. Feel free to enlighten me.
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Herzog win an Oscar. I want him to stare incredulously at the Oscar statue, look into the camera, and say, "I feel nothing." He could then walk off the stage to a collection of blank stares. That would be awesome!
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now go fuck a jagged hole in the wall - a small hole
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still should have got a nomination. I know some people say it's over rated, but I still thought everything about it was first class. Oh well. But even more than DK, I really hoped In Bruges would make a suprise Best Picture nominee. That movie was definetly one of my suprise favourites of the year. Fiennes or Gleeson should have at least got a nod for supporting actor
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It's frustrating to know that the Academy Awards have such weight yet mean virtually nothing. For every Cate Blanchett there's a couple dozen Cuba Gooding Jrs. that get a nomination (or somehow a win) and end up doing nothing for film further on down the road. The very fact that studios literally campaign for their films to get nominated, and once nominated campaign even harder to have those nominees pick up the win, well it just screams corruption. It's politics mixed with art, where the deciding vote is most often cast by someone who either wants to validate himself or who just clearly wants to increase the bulge in the wallet.
The fact that The Fall didn't get nods for cinematography or costume design pretty much sums that notion up. That film is like watching some genius illustrate a children's fantasy tale and it has stuck with me ever since I saw it. Yet it didn't receive a single nomination.
Shouldn't the voters actually, I dunno, watch the movies released in any given year, and then choose from the lot? It seems more like studio posturing and an overload of advertising that rules the day, as opposed to any artistic merit. -
It's a pretty sad year when the most interesting categories are makeup and best supporting actor...
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Don't wait until after the Oscars, be your own beast AICN (for we all know that you are one hell of a beast).
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10. Snow Angels
9. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
8. Rambo
7. In Bruges
6. Iron Man
5. Hellboy II: The Golden Army
4. Kung Fu Panda
3. The Dark Knight
2. Wall-E
1. The Fall
Only Benjamin Button was actually nominated for Best Picture. I haven't even seen the other four nominees. I will, but none of those four other films screamed out to me that I absolutely had to see them. Of the remaining four films only Slumdog Millionaire sounds even remotely interesting to me.
So, essentially, the Academy determines their selections on the basis of perceived pretentiousness and supposed artistic merit.
Here's how I perceived the marketing of those other four films:
Frost/Nixon-veiled knock at the Bush administration by a director that did a get out the vote message with his old pal Henry Winkler
Milk-Proposition what the fuck ever ruined the gay marriage law in California, so here's why that's wrong
The Reader-a holocaust drama starring Kate WinsletherwinanOscar
Slumdog Millionaire-Bollywood meets game show success.
None of those films were targeted toward me, so I'll see 'em, probably on DVD. -
From : The New York Times
January 6, 2009
( http://carpetbagger.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/salman-rushdie-oscar-prognosticator/ )
“I really like the Batman movie ... I think ‘The Dark Knight,’ is a shoo in ( for the Oscars ).”
“I think even people who don’t like superhero movies might like this because it’s about the problem of the idea of the superhero. There’s a scene in the film where the Joker confronts Batman and says, ‘You know, we’re the same, and we need each other.’ That’s a profound moment.
These extreme characters can only exist in each other’s company.”
BREAKING NEWS : The AMPAS Ayatollah has declared ' fatwa ' on the BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR 2008 !!!!! -
Pensive? Seriously? You used that as some sort of defense of the "depth" of TDK? So the characters look like they're thinking? Well... wow. That's definitely depth. "It deals with mature themes." In what way? "complex characters". How? I tell you what's boring: reading the same spineless defenses of TDK's so-called "depth". When you can frame your argument in terms that actually MAKE an argument, let me know. And for the record, if you spend the time to actually read all the glowing reviews that you reference, you'll find that although most critics like the movie MANY of them have issues with the same script/story inconsistencies that I do. Doesn't stop me from liking the movie, but it sure as shit makes it NOT THE BEST PICTURE OF 2008. Which is, after all, the topic of discussion.
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The fact that I can counter your argument is definitely an indication that I'm just stupid. Yep. Sure enough. It's tiresome to go through all the script/story flaws of TDK over and over again. Especially when it just sours me on the movie, which was never my intent. I genuinely like the movie, I just don't think it's as great as you do. So I'm not going to go over the flaws. There's really no point because people like you can't be reasoned with. We call them zealots. So go ahead and enjoy your TDK zealotry.
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TDK is not profoundly deep by any stretch - but for the kind pf movie it is it has more substance and weight than expected - and its just a good well crafted movie - it starts off with a bang and never really slows down or slips - like HB2, each meaty scene is topped by the next - thats what i dug - it isnt lazy and gives the audience more than they need - i think its a great movie - timeless thought provoking art?.. i dont know - but i can say i like it enough to own it and watch it repeatedly - as for the noms for best pic - last years were great original and worthy - this years are all safe bets - oscar bait
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for Oliver Stone's W.Which his role as the former (idiot) Commander-in-Chief was more credible than Brad's Benjamin character IMNSHO. I can't comment on Jenkin's nom for visitor since I have and never will see it.
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This from a man who slandered a whole religion, and has been living off it ever since like a vulture???Rushdie: There’s a scene in the film where the Joker confronts Batman and says, ‘You know, we’re the same, and we need each other.’ That’s a profound moment. These extreme characters can only exist in each other’s company.”
Messiah: That line was stolen directly from Falling Down...a Michael Douglas film. You'll also notice that The Dark Knight did not get a Best Picture Oscar nomination as predicted by Salman Rushdie, so much for his expertise in movies, or calling the Oscars.
BREAKING NEWS: Benjamin Button will win Best Picture!!! -
Is debetable. On the one hand jar jar was annoying. but on the other Star wars saga starred billy dee williams, Samuel L jackson, james earl jones and sebastian shaw. As we have never seen sebastian shaw in anything else. I dont know if he is black or white. Jar jar was voiced by ahmed best. a black actor and comedian. based on one irritating character, I am not sure one can claime that lucas is racist.
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Hysterical. The media were beating and clubbing over the head with wild hysteria about the movie. It was a very very very good, technically very well made summer blockbuster. The comparisons between TDK and the godfather part two were blown out of all proportion. Though both were crime films. and though both are sequels. Godfather Pt two is a masterpiece of 1970s cinema. Coppolla never recovered from that film. He made one more great film. Before his bloated decline into such nonsense like jack. he pulled it together briefly for Francis ford coppolla's bram stoker's Dracula. But he hasnt made a masterpiece since. Not getting awards can sometimes be a good thing. I loved burn after reading, Pitt and Jk simmons have never better. Pitt should have been nominated for that. It was the Coens most financially successful film. not getting nominated is as JK simmons says " a godamned clustered fuck"
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As far as TDK, it...in terms of cinematography, was trying to be The Departed...another overhyped mess of a film BTW, but it failed, both films failed, with respect to them both lacking substance. All we got is empty stories with too much camera movement and lots of yelling, an attempt to appear dramatic and intense? I suspect Martin Scorsese was using all that camera movement...via tracking and panning, and dolly shots, as his answer to NYPD Blue's hand-held camera, and post edit herky-jerk effects look? Well, there was that hack Nolan trying to do his riff on Scorsese with unnecessary camera movements in TDK but he forgot to write a script that said anything, and he forgot to entertain the audience???And speaking of weak...Bram Stoker's Dracula is a puzzlement, it could have been so much better.
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Jan 25, 2009 9:35:17 AM CST
" the same people who didn't clap when Charlton Heston's image w
by wookie1972
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Jan 25, 2009 9:35:32 AM CST
" the same people who didn't clap when Charlton Heston's image w
by wookie1972
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What the hell are you talking about? Heston died in April of last year. The Oscars were at the end of February. Either you're lying or hallucinating.
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called 1942. Come on Steven. Let's get it done.
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Nice post JamesT. You should check facts first before posting.
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Hype is killing the movie business. Micheal caine should have shut his mouth regarding Heath ledger. but I suppose he was only doing his bit to overpromote an overlyhyped film anyway. he and the wb got thier wish. Wall-e was another overlyhyped film that left me cold. sorry if anyone here liked it. and lots of people did. The standard of animation is astounding, dont get me wrong. but wall-e was a very hypocritical movie. especially considering the fact that it was made by a giant multinational coporation. I didnt see a film when I was watching wall-e I felt like I was been given an environmental lecture.
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does anyone notice that disney gets two animation awards nods this year. dreamworks gets one. hmmm. The Academy should introduce a international animation nomination. also walts with bashir is an animated film. as the late lord deeds once said Shurely shome mishtake.
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"For the kind of movie it is" is a good way to put it. I won't deny that the movie feels weighty. I believe that it does TOUCH ON some interesting issues. If only it actually took the time to integrate those moments and more fully flesh them out. But it doesn't, and that's fine. It's still an enjoyable movie. Just not Best Picture. And not the greatest thing since sliced freaking bread.
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What do you want? How can someone prove that a film is deep? The characters are complex because they have competing motivations, they struggle with their choices. Like Batman who is presented as a good man who will also stop at nothing to save Gotham. A good man who will break someone's legs, spy on an entire city. Meanwhile, he juggles a one-dimensional public persona only ever revealing his true self to Alfred and Rachel. Sorry, but I stated earlier, I am not trying to say it is a deeply poignant movie. But there is depth in this, especially for a character who started off as a comic book that appealed to young kids. What movie would you consider to be deep anyway?
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Characters in any movie worth filming should have some inner conflict. And I think Batman DOES have inner conflict. Many of the characters in the film do. Which is one reason why I like it and would never lump it in with something silly like Batman and Robin. But many people who get on these boards and talk about TDK act like it's the second coming of fucking cinema. It isn't. It's a well-made, well-acted film adaptation of a comic book. The script has issues, whether defenders want to admit it or not. I've said in other talkbacks regarding the movie that how highly you think of the movie has a lot to do with how much those script problems bug you. If they don't bug you, then the movie is really, really good. They bug me, so the movie is enjoyable, maybe even good, but flawed enough that I'm not going to buy it and watch it again. I'll watch it on TV. I'll watch it with friends or family if it's playing. As for what movie I would consider to be deep, I'll go with another movie that came out in 2008: Teeth. Ostensibly it's a horror movie about a girl with vagina dentata. But under the surface it's about the confusion of puberty and female sexual empowerment. That's subtext that you don't have to dig for or create out of thin air. The problem I have with claims to TDK depth is that the majority of people who make that claim have created meaning from the text. And there's a difference between subtext, which is what Teeth has, and made-up text, which I suspect TDK has for those people. I think TDK DOES contain subtext regarding the moral definition of a "hero". BUT I also think that the film doesn't know how it feels about the issue, so it leaves the audience to consider. Which might be fine in another movie, but in TDK you also have action and costumes and The Joker and Two-Face and... etc. The plots and subplots get in the way. I thought when I saw the film that it would have been greatly improved if they had trimmed about 3/4 of the subplots. Or considered axing Dent's transformation into Two-Face. Then maybe it would have had time to develop its thoughts into a real, cogent theme instead of just calling attention to a *possible* theme and abandoning it because hey, we got plot to get through.
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I'll take the Knight's morally complex ending over Slumdog's mostly traditional fairy tale one anyday.
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One step closer to that guy named Oscar.
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I want to see Teeth. I hear it is an interesting black comedy. Nevertheless, I am sure some people could dismiss it as a fairly mundane and obvious film about female empowerment and castration anxiety. Not that I think this (I haven't seen it) but it is always easy to dismiss a film and accuse it of being more shallow than it really is. Bottom line is if a film doesn't connect with a person on an emotional level, it is hard to convince that person a film is deep. All the logical argument in the world can't convince me Benjamin Button is deep. I could certainly elaborate more on why I think TDK is deeper than you give it credit for but the AICN talkback is hardly convenient to do so. My main beef is people who condemn TDK for being superficial and lightweight when it clearly is a lot more than that. They are the type of people I was referring to earlier which is why I stated the film is not the most poignant thing ever but it certainly has depth. The degree of its depth is arguable, I agree.
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Morally complex how? Gordon spells it out for you in a great big swelling-music monologue: there is no moral complexity here. Batman takes the blame for Harvey's deaths so that Harvey can retain a reputation for good. Seems pretty straightforward. And Slumdog is better because its plot contrivances are based on one of the biggest and most widely acknowledged contrivances of all: destiny/fate. Which it establishes in the very beginning of the movie.
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If you ask me to choose between two movies, one which wears its subtext on its sleeve and one which requires more work to get at the subtext, I'm going to go with the former over the latter. Story is more important than metaphor to me. The ability to communicate clearly is a priority. If a film obfuscates an important aspect of its makeup, I'm already inclined to dislike it. In the case of TDK, I don't believe that there's much subtext actually going on. I think there is SOME subtext, but it's unclear. If the film were a relationship drama like Before Sunset or similar, I'd be more inclined to be okay with the unclear subtext. But it's not. It's a comic book action crime drama. Now I'm not one to say that comic book movies should be mindless popcorn fluff. I appreciate that TDK attempted to do/be more than that. But I also think it overstepped in its zeal. It tries too hard to be too many things to too many people. The result is a very messy film. And again, if you read the actual reviews of the film, many of the critics who gave the movie a positive rating acknowledged that the narrative is messy. And in the end, I'm a story guy. I'm a narrative film guy. If you're more inclined towards ars gratia artis, then maybe the narrative issues don't affect you. But they do affect me. And I think they affected the Academy. Or maybe the TDK complainers are right and the Academy is old and out of touch and corrupt and hates comic books and hates geeks and... well, whatever other excuses help them sleep at night.
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Morally complex because the audience is left with the contradiction between Batman's deception and his noble intentions, and the contradiction between his decision to live outside the law and his goal to uphold the law. The movie takes a complex position on how one deals with the conflict between the rules of an orderly society and morality, suggesting that one has to be willing to live apart from society to do the right thing, yet recognizing the necessity of those who uphold society's laws, even when doing so poses a threat to society. It shows Batman as a force for good, incorruptible in his goal of protecting the city, but compromised on virtually every other normal standard of right and wrong. Gordon's speech justifies Batman's actions, but it doesn't delve into most of the complexities presented by the film.
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--I'm also very much a story guy, and that's why I love the Dark Knight. I think it's constructed brilliantly. It sets up four opposing forced--the mob, the cops, the Batman, the Joker--each representative of the four possible responses to the essential conflict of the film (how right/wrong relates to order/chaos). And we see how the ordered forces are weak and the chaotic forces are empowered--but that society tolerates the ordered forces in a way it can't tolerate chaos. The rules and the ties to society hamper the mob and the cops, but society is willing to put up with the mob in a way it refuses to put up with the Joker, and society admires Harvey Dent in a way they can't admire Batman. And every element of the movie exists explicitly to play through this scenario, to show you how Harvey's destroyed because of his connection to society (Rachel's death), to show that the mob, evil as it may be, has its rules and its code and Maroni even loves his wife, and to show you how Batman's ability to break the rules helps society by bringing evil to justice (his trip to Hong Kong), but also destabilizes it by inspiring others to break the rules that hold society together (his imitators, and even the Joker), and of course to demonstrate how the Joker, with a few gallons of gas and a couple of bullets, does more to damage Gotham City than the mob ever could. And I love how it takes the standard superhero film, where the hero saves the day by kicking the bad guy's ass, and turns it on its head--Gotham city saves itself in the end, and when Batman saves the day he does it not by winning a fight, but by accepting blame that isn't his and allowing himself to be the villain. I wouldn't change a single plot point, personally.
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Come on now. TDK wears its subtext on its sleeve but a film about a woman whose vagina bites off mens dicks requires work to get at with the subtext? Now, I have to see the film but I can smell the subtext in that film before even seeing it.
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One minute you say Dark Knight is messy and unclear, next you say it's pretty straight forward? Which is it?I'm not really sure what these academy awards are supposed to represent? What is the academy trying to accomplish? How can you say these are the best films of the year when they left off the film that was the most successful financially and critically too? Do they want this to be their private party where they only pick their favorites and screw everyone else's opinion? Then why the big hoopla? The highest rated Oscars were when the years when Lord of The Rings and the year when Titanic was nominated.
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dont misread me - i still think it deserves a nom for best pic - the best movie of the year, according to the oscars, shouldnt have to be the deepest - and i wouldnt call any of the nominees deep or timeless - boring maybe - the vast majority of critics and millions of ticket buyers agree that TDK is an exceptional movie - even for a batman movie - hoe does it not qualify to be in the running? - my theory is that the younger hipper academy members (the current majority) staged a coup - they felt as you do and are sick of the hype and having to hear how great and worthy TDK is - so they went out of their way to not nominate it - honestly, "frost/nixon"? - "the reader"? - im sure they have their merits, but these are rentals at best (when netflix is out of what you really want) - explain to me how all the nominees qualify and TDK does not - would you seriously, if given a choice, sit through any one of those over TDK? - the academy is made up of industry people with strong opinions and agendas - like any group - "wall-e", "the wrestler", "TDK", "synecdoche ny" and "in bruges" - best 5 movies of the year - imo
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Salman Rushdie did not slander a whole religion. Have you read the Satanic Verses? I thought not, go and read it (it is boring, so sorry) and tell me which passage upset islam, and why.
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Where is his Oscar nod for "Soul Men"? Was his death not tragic enough, or does Hollywood hate black people?
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You're right, Bernie Mac *did* die, too. Maybe that's an indication that the academy doesn't just had out awards to dead people and based Ledger's nomination on the phenomenal iconic performance he delivered...
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You've got airtime jumping to all of those conclusions. The groundwork for what you're saying might be present (not even saying it is, just that it MIGHT BE), but YOU had to do the work to actually come up with the connections. The film doesn't. All it does is set up and set up and set up. Are you then given over to independent thought about the subjects? Okay, fine. But I fail to see how simply getting you to think about morality makes TDK deep or more worthy than the current Best Picture noms. Congratulations to TDK for provoking thought in a genre that doesn't typically do so. To be blunt and flip, so what?
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And if you weren't so busy waiting to jump down my throat you would've seen that. As for your question about the Oscars: yeah, that would be the People's Choice Awards. Where the People's Choice is important. I'm sorry that you feel excluded, but get over it. By the same token, if you feel excluded by the Academy, why do you give a fuck what I think about TDK's Oscar "snub"?
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If TDK had been nominated I wouldn't care, most likely. I think Benjamin Button is a far worse movie than TDK. At least I never yawned during TDK. I also think it's too bad that The Wrestler isn't nominated. But nobody is in here flipping shit about Ben Button's nomination or The Wrestler's lack thereof. And people ARE in here flipping shit about TDK's so-called "snub". It WOULD probably bother me if TDK were nominated AND won because I think Slumdog and Frost/Nixon are better movies of the films present, and I think The Wrestler was better as well. Maybe not as exciting as TDK, but they aren't MEANT to be as exciting. I think it's a credit to all three movies that despite not being action flicks like TDK, I was still incredibly tense during them. And you can be sure that I would have gone frothingly insane if TDK had even been nominated for its screenplay. Because I believe the vast majority of TDK's faults lie in the script.
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Doesn't draw those connections? Those connections are explicitly part of the plot. The whole reason the plot unfolds the way it does is because of these conflicts. The Joker articulates several of them, Gordon others, and others are clearly there in the plot. And so what? So clearly it does have thematic depth. It has many layers of implicit ideas, some of which are not routinely expressed in other films and media. Your repetitious claim that it lacks thematic depth makes no more sense than your claim the plot is muddled, even though the plot is perfectly straightforward and pretty much every element of it is necessary...
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Yep, I can be a last word freak. I know, it sucks. But since you're not inclined to give a shit what I say, I don't feel too bad about it. Thematic depth implies to me that there are dimensions to the theme. There is little dimension to The Dark Knight's theme. Which is, as best I see it: "What makes a hero/good man?" This question is put to the audience. Is Batman a hero? Is Dent a hero? Who decides on the definition? All sub-questions that stem from the main question. And I think this CENTRAL theme is clearly defined and developed through the plot. But this is the only theme I see as being DIRECTLY resultant from the plot. A theme that has been explored many times before. Does that make it bad? No, of course not. The definition of a "good man" is very often an interesting theme. It's just also "routinely expressed". And in TDK, I think that clear theme often gets hijacked by ideas that, while interesting, aren't developed. As for that "routinely expressed" bit, I'm going to be a dick and suggest you get a Netflix account or a videostore membership and educate yourself in the films that explore the same "implicit ideas". It shouldn't be too hard. Start with superhero movies if you want to. After all, what was Superman II about if not the definition of "hero"? How about Hancock? Pretty similar, yeah? Then you can get into the more obscure stuff, like the 1992 film Hero. Point being that TDK doesn't break any new ground, so please let's not use that as an argument in its favor. And what are you smoking when you say "pretty much every element is necessary"? The bat-clones are necessary? The appearance of The Scarecrow is necessary? The whole subplot about sonar and Lucius is necessary? I don't think so. But whatever. In the end, you won't care what points I make or whether or not I can back them up. If you're determined to love the shit out of it, so be it. I don't care one way or the other, I just want it stated that I think the Academy chose well to leave it off the Best Picture list AND I want to make my voice of dissent heard in a way that shows I'm not just some too-cool-for-the-room nay-sayer. I have what I feel are legit gripes about TDK's script.
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I already went into far more depth in the films' theme than you're willing to give it. You minimizing it to one question doesn't suddenly strip the rest of it out of the film. Here's one central question of the film: What does one have to do to successfully defend a society while breaking the rules that define that society? And yes, the bat-clones are absolutely necessary to that theme--Batman discovers that by being a vigilante, he's inspiring chaos in the system because others see him successfully breaking the rules and seek to emulate him. And how often is this question posed in a film? And the appearance of the Scarecrow serves to demonstrate that for all Batman's effort, he has inspired insanity rather than order. Yes, the sub-plot of the sonar was necessary, because his eavesdropping was against the law and almost fascist in the extent of its power--leading to the question of whether it's right for someone to betray society so greatly in its defense. And for the record: No, I really don't see much similarity in the ideas of Superman II, Hancock, or Hero. You can't just say "oh, here's a movie about a hero, they must be alike!" That doesn't betray shallow themes, just your shallow interpretation.
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