From Robots to a Wedding: Oscar Post #1

A few years ago, Stephanie introduced me to the glory that is the Academy Awards. Before this, I watched the awards ceremony arbitrarily and usually hadn’t seen more than a handful of the nominees. Most years I hadn’t seen any. So now, I derive great pleasure in watching the year’s best American cinema as distilled by people more film-intelligent (filmtelligent?) than me and then watching people get accolades for doing things I can’t.

Despite the criticism of the hip Internet people, I look forward to the ceremony and am always satisfied. I think people need to realize that it is essentially an awards assembly, and though it should be more interesting than watching a classmate win “Best Attendance” in an auditorium, it’s really the same kind of thing. Except no one there is wearing Keds… except perhaps Will Smith’s children.

So what follows are my thoughts of some of the nominees. These are the ones I actually saw in 2008 and didn’t cram into January and the first part of February.

Presto (**)
Cruelty to animals and revenge make me uncomfortable unless someone’s wearing yellow. Great animation though.

Wall-E (****)
Before I went to the theater to see this, I’d read an interview with Andrew Stanton in which he stated that the film was partly inspired by the silent films of Chaplin. Since I love the few Chaplin films I’ve seen, I went expecting a helluva lot and was not disappointed. Everything about this film is perfect. Plus, it was a way to see something recent with Kathy Najimy that wasn’t reruns of King of the Hill on Adult Swim.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (****)
I love Woody Allen. Correction: I adore Woody Allen. There is exact one Woody Allen film that I hated. Unfortunately, this means explaining the virtues of flawed films like Small Time Crooks and Anything Else to friends and family. So when Woody Allen writes and directs a film that strikes just the right balance between smart and sexy, funny and poignant, I’m in absolute heaven. I was giddy leaving the theater.

Trailer for Revolutionary Road (****)
I saw this before Ghost Town and had a fanboy moment. Some people get excited about superhero flicks or revivals of franchises while others eagerly await the plethora of Sundance/art house films; I get excited about domestic strife films. The stars have aligned and Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio are reuniting for a haunting tale of domesticity gone wrong. I’m practically beside myself with glee.

The Duchess (***1/2)
If this film doesn’t win Best Costume, I’ll eat Ms. Jennings’s bonnet. Sometimes the costumes of a period piece are mere spectacle or technical exercise and other times they completely overshadow thinly drawn characters. Then there are those rare films where the costumes actually work with the characters without being overtly anachronistic. Keira Knightley has never looked better. (And also bonus points for Charlotte Rampling being there.)

Tropic Thunder (***)
I laughed a lot. I didn’t want to see this, but Jason did and there was nothing else at the dollar theater. It’s nice to find Ben Stiller watchable without Wes Anderson making him wear tracksuits. While Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Cruise were fantastic, my favorite character was Matthew McConaughey as the Tivo-obsessed agent. For some reason, I find him incredibly watchable.

Rachel Getting Married (****)
A lot of movies make me think, but few really make me experience feeling. At the risk of sounding like a DVD case blurb, this was my favorite movie of the year. Its documentary feel made me feel like I was in the movie experiencing these things, but it didn’t detract from the humanity and heart of the film which completely bowls you over. When Rachel finally gets the microphone at the rehearsal dinner, I felt just like I do in real life when I know someone’s going to make the situation awkward but can’t do anything about it. I think my favorite part is the car accident which is presented with such banality. I’ve often felt that the aftermath of a car accident would feel incredibly weird. Yes, I’ve been through an ordeal, but life goes on. You’ve still got to go to that wedding.

Next time: I pontificate about the thematic issues of truth in Doubt and Frost/Nixon, discuss the disarming charm of Happy-Go-Lucky and The Visitor and I battle an army of sharks and dinosaurs with a laser gun.