2009 Academy Award Nominations

Winners to be announced on Sunday, February 22nd.

Best Motion Picture of the Year
Nominees:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Ceán Chaffin, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall
Frost/Nixon (2008): Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Eric Fellner
Milk (2008): Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks
The Reader (2008): Nominees to be determined
Slumdog Millionaire (2008): Christian Colson

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Nominees:
Richard Jenkins for The Visitor (2007/I)
Frank Langella for Frost/Nixon (2008)
Sean Penn for Milk (2008)
Brad Pitt for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler (2008)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Nominees:
Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married (2008)
Angelina Jolie for Changeling (2008)
Melissa Leo for Frozen River (2008)
Meryl Streep for Doubt (2008/I)
Kate Winslet for The Reader (2008)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Nominees:
Josh Brolin for Milk (2008)
Robert Downey Jr. for Tropic Thunder (2008)
Philip Seymour Hoffman for Doubt (2008/I)
Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight (2008)
Michael Shannon for Revolutionary Road (2008)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominees:
Amy Adams for Doubt (2008/I)
Penélope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
Viola Davis for Doubt (2008/I)
Taraji P. Henson for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Marisa Tomei for The Wrestler (2008)


Best Achievement in Directing
Nominees:
Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Stephen Daldry for The Reader (2008)
David Fincher for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Ron Howard for Frost/Nixon (2008)
Gus Van Sant for Milk (2008)


Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Nominees:
Frozen River (2008): Courtney Hunt
Happy-Go-Lucky (2008): Mike Leigh
In Bruges (2008): Martin McDonagh
Milk (2008): Dustin Lance Black
WALL·E (2008): Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, Jim Reardon


Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Nominees:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Eric Roth, Robin Swicord
Doubt (2008/I): John Patrick Shanley
Frost/Nixon (2008): Peter Morgan
The Reader (2008): David Hare
Slumdog Millionaire (2008): Simon Beaufoy


Best Achievement in Cinematography
Nominees:
Changeling (2008): Tom Stern
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Claudio Miranda
The Dark Knight (2008): Wally Pfister
The Reader (2008): Roger Deakins, Chris Menges
Slumdog Millionaire (2008): Anthony Dod Mantle

Best Achievement in Editing
Nominees:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter
The Dark Knight (2008): Lee Smith
Frost/Nixon (2008): Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill
Milk (2008): Elliot Graham
Slumdog Millionaire (2008): Chris Dickens

Best Achievement in Art Direction
Nominees:
Changeling (2008): James J. Murakami, Gary Fettis
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Donald Graham Burt, Victor J. Zolfo
The Dark Knight (2008): Nathan Crowley, Peter Lando
The Duchess (2008): Michael Carlin, Rebecca Alleway
Revolutionary Road (2008): Kristi Zea, Debra Schutt

Best Achievement in Costume Design
Nominees:
Australia (2008): Catherine Martin
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Jacqueline West
The Duchess (2008): Michael O'Connor
Milk (2008): Danny Glicker
Revolutionary Road (2008): Albert Wolsky


Best Achievement in Makeup
Nominees:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Greg Cannom
The Dark Knight (2008): John Caglione Jr., Conor O'Sullivan
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008): Mike Elizalde, Thomas Floutz

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
Nominees:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Alexandre Desplat
Defiance (2008): James Newton Howard
Milk (2008): Danny Elfman
Slumdog Millionaire (2008): A.R. Rahman
WALL·E (2008): Thomas Newman

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Nominees:
Slumdog Millionaire (2008): A.R. Rahman, Gulzar("Jai Ho")
Slumdog Millionaire (2008): A.R. Rahman, Maya Arulpragasam("O Saya")
WALL·E (2008): Peter Gabriel, Thomas Newman("Down to Earth")

Best Achievement in Sound
Nominees:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce, Mark Weingarten
The Dark Knight (2008): Ed Novick, Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo
Slumdog Millionaire (2008): Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, Resul Pookutty
WALL·E (2008): Tom Myers, Michael Semanick, Ben Burtt
Wanted (2008): Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño, Petr Forejt

Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Nominees:
The Dark Knight (2008): Richard King
Iron Man (2008): Frank E. Eulner, Christopher Boyes
Slumdog Millionaire (2008): Tom Sayers
WALL·E (2008): Ben Burtt, Matthew Wood
Wanted (2008): Wylie Stateman

Best Achievement in Visual Effects
Nominees:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton, Craig Barron
The Dark Knight (2008): Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Timothy Webber, Paul J. Franklin
Iron Man (2008): John Nelson, Ben Snow, Daniel Sudick, Shane Mahan

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Nominees:
Bolt (2008): Chris Williams, Byron Howard
Kung Fu Panda (2008): John Stevenson, Mark Osborne
WALL·E (2008): Andrew Stanton

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Nominees:
Der Baader Meinhof Komplex (2008)(Germany)
Entre les murs (2008)(France)
Revanche (2008)(Austria)
Okuribito (2008)(Japan)
Vals Im Bashir (2008)(Israel)

Best Documentary, Features
Nominees:
The Betrayal - Nerakhoon (2008): Ellen Kuras, Thavisouk Phrasavath
Encounters at the End of the World (2007): Werner Herzog, Henry Kaiser
The Garden (2008/I): Scott Hamilton Kennedy
Man on Wire (2008): James Marsh, Simon Chinn
Trouble the Water (2008): Tia Lessin, Carl Deal

Best Documentary, Short Subjects
Nominees:
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

Best Short Film, Animated
Nominees:
La Maison en Petits Cubes: Kunio Kato
Ubornaya istoriya - lyubovnaya istoriya (2007): Konstantin Bronzit
Oktapodi (2007): Emud Mokhberi, Thierry Marchand
Presto (2008): Doug Sweetland
This Way Up (2008): Alan Smith, Adam Foulkes

Best Short Film, Live Action
Nominees:
Auf der Strecke (2007): Reto Caffi
Manon sur le bitume (2007): Elizabeth Marre, Olivier Pont
New Boy (2007): Steph Green, Tamara Anghie
Grisen (2008): Tivi Magnusson, Dorthe Warnø Høgh
Spielzeugland (2007): Jochen Alexander Freydank

Bask in the glory of "Skins"

I mentioned "Skins" briefly when reviewing "Slumdog Millionaire," but haven't really talked about this show with anyone because I've been keeping it to myself, because it's incredibly addictive. It's a British Drama about a group of English friends, who party like nobodies business and get caught up in antics big and small, as they learn about life, death, sex and each other. The show originally aired on Ch 4 in the UK and airs every Sunday night on BBC America, though when I missed an ep I was able to catch it on youtube thanks to dannyfl89, who has all of season 1 and 2 posted. Each episode is broken up into 5 separate parts but you can watch Season 1 Episode 1 Part 1 (sadly the embedding had been disabled by request.) It's nice to aside from dannyfl89, other people are just as excited about this show, that also features great music and ia a BAFTA (basically the British Oscar) nominee.

Slumdog Millionaire Review

I must preface this review by writing that Slumdog Millionaire is possibly the best movie I've seen in years. Now that I've had a few days to let it ruminate and a chance to gain some perspective on this utterly beautiful film, there is certainly nothing else I can compare it to and can do nothing more than to tell you to go see this movie as soon as possible. Though if you need a better idea of what it's about, I've posted the trailer below, but basically it's a bildungsroman love story, vividly and lusciously told through vibrant cinematography, glorious acting and masterful directing. Jamal Malik is one question away from winning 20 million rupies on the Indian version of "Who wants to be a Millionaire," but before he can answer the final question he is accused of cheating and the plot of the film is how he was able to come up with the answers and is told in flashback intercut with present day.

I have been a fan of director Danny Boyle since "Trainspotting" came out, though I was too young to see it I was intrigued by him as a director and was forever a follower of his thanks to "A Life Less Ordinary," then "The Beach." More recently people may be familiar with his work on "28 Days Later" but Danny takes independent filmaking to a whole new level (as he always does) with this gem of a picture. I was hesistant about Dev Patel's performance, who plays Jamal, prior to the seeing film since he's so incredibly awkward and comedically brilliant on the British drama "Skins," but he was wonderful, as was every child actor who played the main characters in different points of their life. I must also mention Freida Pinto, who is not only gorgeous, but a discovery Danny Boyle likens to when he cast Kelly MacDonald in Trainspotting.

Finally I must add that M.I.A's music is featured throughout the film and after the constant bombardment of "Paper Planes" in the "Pineapple Express" trailer, I went off the song completely, though A R Rahman created a phenomenally modern and accessible score and soundtrack that features "Paper Planes" to perfect effect to the point where you want to travel to India. My rating: 10/10

"Slumdog Millionaire" Trailer

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

And not just because Jesus is the reason for season, but because THE BEST movies come out! With the annoucement of the Golden Globe nominees Thursday morning it helps me put into perspective what serious award contenders I should see as soon as possible, while I intend to pepper in the more commercial fair, and probably "Twilight" again. So I've compiled a list of what I intend to and would like to see this holiday season as well as what I've already seen and highly recommend.

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button- Everytime I see this trailer it makes me fall in love with film making all over again

2. Slumdog Millionaire - I've been in awe of Danny Boyle's directorial prowess since I saw Trainspotting well over a decade ago. His ability to bring out the most brilliant performances out of an relatively unknown actors and turn them into stars (Ewan McGregor, Kelly MacDonald, Cillian Murphy) never ceases to amaze and delight me.

3.Milk - Sean Penn breathes the rarified air that only few actors (Daniel Day-Lewis, Denzel Washington on a good day) have the ability to experience. And supposedly he breathes so much life in his portrayal of Harvey Milk, his performance is epic. I've been waiting to see this film for months and hope to before Christmas Day

4.The Wrestler - Darren Aronofsky is the kind of film maker who makes me wonder if I could ever imagine as vividly as he is able to depict on screen. Winner of the Golden Lion
(basically the Grand Jury Prize) at this year's Venice Film Festival

5.Revolutionary Road - Introduce me to one person who didn't like Titanic or who has a negative comment to make about the chemistry and talent of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet and I'll them an idiot to their face. RR reunites the two, under the direction of Academy Award Winning Director Sam Mendes

6. The Reader- Kate Winslet really do no wrong

7. Gran Torino- Nothing says Holiday awards season like a Clint Eastwood movie and not only does he direct this one he stars in it too.

8. Defiance- Liev Schreiber + Daniel Craig + a true story about brothers fighting the Nazis= a movie I'm super excited for

9. Doubt & Frost/Nixon- Both super serious films with incredible casts that keep growing on me but I'm in no immediate rush to see either

10. Valkyrie- I have no intention of paying to see this movie and the as the release date grows closer the idea, trailers and Tom Cruise's perfect American accent grow funnier and funnier to me. Though I am intrigued by the set pieces, the scale of the production and what Bryan Singer was able to pull off, but like I said I'm not paying to see this one.

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