81ST ACADEMY AWARDS (List of winners)

Hugh Jackman's opening was a good start to the evening.
I love Natalie Porman's pink dress.
Seth Rogan and James Franco's look at the movies that are never nominated (comedies) is great.
No big surprise, Slumdog Millionare swept the night.

Here are my picks and who won:

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
MY PICK: N/A
WIN: Penélope Cruz

Best animated feature film of the year
MY PICK: N/A
WIN: "WALL-E"

Adapted screenplay
MY PICK: N/A
WIN:“Slumdog Millionaire”

Original screenplay
MY PICK: “Milk”
WIN: “Milk”

Best animated short film
MY PICK: Didn't see any of them
WIN: "La Maison en Petits Cubes"

Achievement in art direction
MY PICK: "The Dark Knight"
WIN: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

Achievement in makeup
MY PICK: N/A
WIN: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

Achievement in costume design
MY PICK: "The Duchess"
WIN: "The Duchess”

Best Live Action Short
MY PICK: N/A
WIN: "“Spielzeugland (Toyland)”

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
MY PICK: Robert Downey Jr. or Heath Ledger (2 very different performances...)
WIN: Heath Ledger

Best Documentary Feature
MY PICK: It wasn't even nominated.
WIN: "Man on Wire"

Best Documentary Short
MY PICK: N/A
WIN: "Smile Pinki"

Visual Effects
MY PICK: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
WIN: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

Achievement in cinematography
MY PICK: "Slumdog Millionaire"
WIN: "Slumdog Millionaire"

Sound Editing
MY PICK: N/A
WIN: "The Dark Knight"

Sound Mixing
MY PICK: "WALL-E"
WIN: "Slumdog Millionaire"

Film Editing
MY PICK: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
WIN: "Slumdog Millionaire"

Music (Score)
MY PICK: "Slumdog Millionaire"
WIN: "Slumdog Millionaire"

Music (Song)
MY PICK: N/A
WIN: "Jai Ho"

Foreign Language Film
MY PICK: Wasn't Even Nominated.
WIN: "Departures"

Directing
MY PICK: Undecided.
WIN: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionare)

Best Actress in a Leading Role
MY PICK: Anne Hathaway (haven't seen the movie yet, but like the actress) or Angelina Jolie (which I did see)
WIN: Kate Winslet

Best Actor in a Leading Role
MY PICK: Richard Jenkins
WIN: Sean Penn

Best Picture
MY PICK: "Frost/Nixon"
WIN: "Slumdog Millionaire"

The 81st Annual Academy Awards

The 2009 Academy Awards nominations have just been announced. Click on Oscar for a link to the list:





Among the nominations are a bunch of films on my list to watch: Slumdog Millionaire, Rachel Getting Married, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Changeling.

One movie that I hadn't planned to see is Revolutionary Road but given its 3 nods, perhaps it is worth checking out??

Also not on my radar, The Wrestler with Mickey Rourke.

Great to see Richard Jenkins nominated for Best Actor in The Visitor.

It is rare to ever see comedies get the slightest nod (animated ones excluded), so it's interesting to see that Robert Downey Jr. has a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Tropic Thunder. (A movie that was hilariously bad. Completely vulgar but--when I saw it--kept a full theater laughing out loud). Since he's up against the late Heath Ledger for his role in The Dark Knight, I have a feeling that poor ol' Downey isn't going to win.

Unfortunately I have yet to see any of the Foreign Language Films or documentaries on the list. That will soon change....