Full List of 2008 Winners

Well the show is over and now it's time to wipe the sidebar clean and move on with predicting next years nominees. Time flies when doing awards predictions, but the sad reality is this thing never stops. At the end of the journey it's as if a book has been written, and one has nothing left to do but to start all over again. I've already wiped the sidebar clean and added a few early predictions from films I've seen, and those predictions will morph and shift over the course of the year. Before completely moving on though, lets look at this years winners one more time:

BEST PICTURE

'Slumdog Millionaire' (Fox Searchlight) A Celador Films Production, Christian Colson, producer

LEAD ACTOR

Sean Penn in 'Milk' (Focus Features)

LEAD ACTRESS

Kate Winslet in 'The Reader' (The Weinstein Company)

DIRECTOR

Danny Boyle for 'Slumdog Millionaire' (Fox Searchlight)

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

'Departures' -- Japan (Regent Releasing) A Departures Film Partners production

SUPPORTING ACTOR

Heath Ledger in 'The Dark Knight' (Warner Bros)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Penelope Cruz in 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona' (The Weinstein Company)

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Dustin Lance Black for 'Milk' (Focus Features)

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Simon Beaufoy for 'Slumdog Millionaire' (Fox Searchlight)

ANIMATED FEATURE

Andrew Stanton for 'WALL-E' (Walt Disney)

ANIMATED SHORT FILM

Kunio Kato for 'La Maison en Petits Cubes' (A Robot Communications Production)

ART DIRECTION

Donald Graham Burt for art direction and Victor J. Zolfo for set decoration on 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' (Paramount and Warner Bros)

COSTUME DESIGN

Michael O’Connor for 'The Duchess' (Paramount Vantage, Pathe and BBC Films)

MAKEUP

Greg Cannom for 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' (Paramount and Warner Bros)

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Anthony Dod Mantle for 'Slumdog Millionaire' (Fox Searchlight)

LIVE ACTION SHORT FIRM

Jochen Alexander Freydank for 'Spielzeugland (Toyland)', a Mephisto Film production

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

James Marsh and Simon Chinn for 'Man on Wire' (Magnolia Pictures) A Wall to Wall production

DOCUMENTARY SHORT

Megan Mylan for 'Smile Pinki', a Principle production

VISUAL EFFECTS

Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron for 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' (Paramount and Warner

Bros)

SOUND EDITING

Richard King for 'The Dark Knight' (Warner Bros)

SOUND MIXING

Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty for 'Slumdog Millionaire' (Fox Searchlight)

FILM EDITING

Chris Dickens for 'Slumdog Millionaire' (Fox Searchlight)

ORIGINAL SCORE

A.R. Rahman for 'Slumdog Millionaire' (Fox Searchlight)

ORIGINAL SONG

'Jai Ho' from 'Slumdog Millionaire' (Fox Searchlight), music by A.R. Rahman, lyrics by Gulzar

Oscar Winners Leaked?

According to this site they have been. Here's the list:

• Actor in a leading role: Mickey Rourke
• Actor in a supporting role: Heath Ledger
• Actress in a leading role: Kate Winslet
• Actress in a supporting role: Amy Adams
• Animated Feature Film: Wall-E
• Art Direction: The Dark Knight
• Cinematography: Slumdog Millionaire
• Costume Design: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Directing: Slumdog Millionaire
• Documentary feature: Man on Wire
• Documentary short: The Conscience of Nhem En
• Film editing: Milk
• Foreign language film: Departures
• Makeup: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Music (Score): Defiance
• Music (Song): Down to Earth (Wall-E)
• Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
• Short film (animated): Presto
• Short film (live action): Auf Der Strecke (On The Line)
• Sound editing: Wall-E
• Sound mixing: The Dark Knight
• Visual effects: Iron Man
• Writing (Adapted screenplay): The Reader
• Writing (Original screenplay): In Bruges

Well...it's an interesting list. On one hand it sounds pretty reasonable. On the other hand there are some strange listings on it. Most of the acting categories are going as according to plan...but Amy Adams? Well, okay, I'm not going to rule her out yet. Yeah it's the weakest performance of the three, but she obviously has enough love to get a nomination for a role like that, and the strong support for Penelope Cruz and Viola Davis could certainly split the vote. The thing that sticks out for this is the screenplays. It seems a bit weird that "The Reader" would get Best Adapted Screenplay when "Slumdog Millionaire" is winning everything. But I think the one that stands out is "In Brudges" winning Best Original Screenplay. For starters "Milk" is the sole nomination in this category that has a Best Picture nomination, and that usually results in a win. It could split it's vote with "Wall-E," but it feels like such a long shot.

I also find it odd that "The Dark Knight" and "Wall-E" share sound awards, seeing that the sound awards usually both go to the same film. Not to mention the Academy is VERY protective of the results, and chances are this is more of an educated guess then anything! So my opinion is that I wouldn't use this as a betting guide...that said, these upsets seem at the very least logical, so if this list does prove to be legit then we are looking at at least a few upsets.

Predicting Next Years Oscars

Most of the time people who run awards sites like these don't start predicting the next years winners until at least the current year is over. But with "Slumdog Millionaire" so obviously winning the race and Heath Ledger all but a sure thing, this Oscar race is getting a bit...boring. Seriously though when you think about this is a year for locks: 'Slumdog' wins Picture, Danny Boyle wins Director, Kate Winslet wins Actress, Ledger wins Supporting Actor, "Wall-E" wins Animated Feature, on and on it goes. Right now I'd say the only real race we have is between Sean Penn and Mickey Rourke for Best Actor. So yesterday I made an early list of predictions for next years Oscars, in the vein of Everything Oscar's year predix list. I'm holding off posting it until after the awards airs, but I figured since this year is pretty much a done deal it's time to move on. So I've got material to share with you pretty much directly after the Oscars air next Sunday so that this site can keep on trucking.

Foreign Poster of 'Docter Parnassus'

Though the Joker will most likely always be considered Heath Ledger's swan song it's not the last time we'll see him on the big screen. That's because he filmed some of Terry Gilliams next film, "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus." Despite his death Gilliam was determined to salvage Ledger's footage. We'll see whether he was successful or not in a few months, but for now we have an international poster for the film. And judging from what I see here...

...it's going to be vintage Gilliam weirdness. Gilliam is a director who is one of the more ambitious ones working today. The problem is when he fails, he fails BIG! Sadly he tends to fail more then he succeeds, and he directed Ledger and Matt Damon in one of their worst movies ever. This poster doesn't seem to let on that Ledger is in this movie, or his other co-stars, or even what the movie is about. Will it get Oscar consideration? Perhaps. Ledger may be up for another Oscar nod if the Academy can benefit from his wave of praise. Will the movie do well at the box office? I have no idea. Once again though we'll just have to wait and see.

Ebert Weighs In On Oscar Nominees

Roger Ebert concluded his annual Oscar predictions this week with a complete run through of the important categories. Very few surprises to be found. He does predict the Academy picking Viola Davis in "Doubt" for Best Supporting Actress as opposed to Penelope Cruz for "Vicky Christina Barcelona," and he boldly picks Sean Penn the winner for Best Actor in "Milk" as opposed to Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler." Otherwise though it's all routine:

Best Picture - "Slumdog Millionaire"
Best Supporting Actor - Heath Ledger
Best Animated Film - "Wall-E"

The biggest thing he questions is the Best Adapted Screenplay category, where he writes:

Simon Beaufoy for "Slumdog Millionaire." It took enormous research and energy to create this story spanning 20 years and parallel narrative strands, and employ traditional narrative formulas in a film that seemed so wholly original. The other contender may be Eric Roth, for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." But if he wins, there may be the rare possibility of actual booing from the audience. Too many now realize that what Roth adapted was not so much the F. Scott Fitzgerald story, but his own screenplay for "Forrest Gump." Some half a million users saw a funny YouTube "trailer" comparing scene-by-scene parallels in the two films, before Paramount's complaints forced the site to take it down. Cynics say Roth has already won an Oscar for this material.

You can view said trailer on this very site. If the legal whores have taken it down though then a simple Google search should suffice. Just type in "The Curious Case of Forrest Gump."

Online Film Critics Society Awards Winners

BEST PICTURE
WALL*E

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Let the Right One In

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Man On Wire

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
WALL*E

BEST DIRECTOR
Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight

BEST ACTOR
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

BEST ACTRESS
Michelle Williams, Wendy and Lucy

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
WALL*E, Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Let the Right One In, John Ajvide Lindqvist

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Dark Knight, Wally Pfister

BEST EDITING
Slumdog Millionaire, Chris Dickens

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Dark Knight, James Newton Howard & Hans Zimmer

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Lina Leandersson, Let the Right One In

BREAKTHROUGH FILMMAKER
Tomas Alfredson, Let the Right One In

Keep an eye on "Wall-E": this is the movie that's going to upset one of the so-called "locked in" nominations.

Reaching for the stars.

Vancouver Film Critics Awards

More film critics awards. This time it's "Milk" walking away with the top prize:

BEST FILM
Milk

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEAD ROLE
Sean Penn, Milk

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEAD ROLE
Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road/The Reader

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married

BEST DIRECTOR
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Edge of Heaven

BEST CANADIAN FILM
C’est pas moi, je le jure!

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A CANADIAN FILM
Natar Ungalaaq, The Necessities of Life

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A CANADIAN FILM
Marianne Fortier, Maman est chez le coiffeur

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A CANADIAN
FILM
Randy Quaid, Real Time

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A CANADIAN
FILM
Suzanne Clément, C’est pas moi, je le jure!

BEST DIRECTOR OF A CANADIAN FILM
Philippe Falardeau, C’est pas moi, je le jure!

BEST BRITISH COLUMBIA FILM
Fifty Dead Men Walking

ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR CONTRIBUTION TO THE BRITISH COLUMBIA FILM INDUSTRY
William Vince

Golden Globes 2008 Highlights

Thanks to YouTube we can look over some of the highlights of the Golden Globes (which all include drunk actors and speeches that aren't PC):







Nice to know Kate can't remember Angela's name.


And, of course, Heath wins. Hopefully his tribute at the Oscars will be more emotional.

Heath Ledger: 1979-2008

Slumdog Sweeps Globes

"Slumdog Millionaire" turns out to be the top winner, winning Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, and Score. Full list below, more comments later:

FILM

• Best Picture, Drama: Slumdog Millionaire
• Best Picture, Comedy Musical: Vicky Cristina Barcelona
• Best Director: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
• Best Actor, Drama: Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
• Best Actress, Drama: Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road
• Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
• Best Supporting Actress: Kate Winslet, The Reader
• Best Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy: Slumdog Millionaire
• Best Foreign Language Film: Waltz With Bashir
• Best Animated Feature: WALL·E
• Best Actor, Musical/Comedy: Colin Farrell
• Best Actress, Musical/Comedy: Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
• Best Original Score: A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millonaire
• Best Original Song: Bruce Springsteen, The Wrestler
• Cecil B. DeMille Award: Stephen Spielberg

BFCA Winners

As the title says, the BFCA has announced their winners (more love for "Slumdog Millionaire" to be found):

Picture, Director, Score, Screenplay, Young Actor: Slumdog Millionaire
Animated: WALL•E
Documentary: Man on Wire
Foreign Film: Waltz With Bashir
Comedy: Tropic Thunder
TV Movie: John Adams
Action: The Dark Knight
Song: "The Wrestler" Bruce Springsteen
Actor & Acting Ensemble: Sean Penn and the cast of Milk
Actress: (tie) Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married and Meryl Streep for Doubt
Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight
Supporting Actress: Kate Winslet for The Reader

'Clever' Ain't So Observant

Though there are plenty of YouTube videos out there that have legitimate film fans and critics talking about the upcoming Oscars, with worthwhile predictions and interesting insights, it's pretty sad that typing in "oscar predictions" leads to this video being first in line...



...which shows that YouTube is still owned by sponsers. Not only does this woman NOT remind me of a film critic, but for making a movie close to January she shows a shocking lack of knowledge about the Oscar race! She lists "Revolutionary Road," "Doubt," and *snicker* "Australia" as major contenders. Obviously if she were a movie fan she would know that (with the small exception of "Doubt) all those movies are pretty much out of the race. No mention of "Milk," "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," or "The Reader" are to be found. She doesn't mention "The Dark Knight," and Heath Ledger isn't so much as mentioned (which, considering how that race is going, must be a first at this point). I'm surprised she even mentioned Sally Hawkins in the video.

This is why, fellow Oscar lovers, you make sure you choose your prediction sites/videos carefully. There are informed opinions out there, and you don't have to settle for stuff like this, that seems to be popular just because they have money to advertise. If you want my personal picks for good campaign sites, I have a list of them on the side underneath predictions. I recommend you start clicking and informing yourself.

Boston Film Critics Awards

And now the Boston Film Critics have given out their choices and awards. They are:

Best Picture: WALL•E and Slumdog Millionaire (tie)
Best Actor: Sean Penn for Milk and Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler (tie)
Best Actress: Sally Hawkins for Happy-Go-Lucky
Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight
Best Supporting Actress: Penélope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Best Director: Gus Van Sant for Milk and Paranoid Park
Best Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black for Milk
Best Cinematography: Christopher Doyle and Rain Kathy Li for Paranoid Park
Best Documentary: Man on Wire
Best Foreign-Language Film: Let the Right One In
Best Animated Film: WALL•E
Best Film Editing: Chris Dickens for Slumdog Millionaire
Best New Filmmaker: Martin McDonagh for In Bruges
Best Ensemble Cast: Tropic Thunder

Wow, "Wall-E" is working some magic. Something tells me the final five could be:

Slumdog Millionaire
The Dark Knight
The Curious Case of Benjaman Button
Milk
Wall-e

So where does that leave "Frost/Nixon?" This keeps getting more and more interesting (and it's making that sting from the Golden Globes seem like no big deal now).

New York Film Critics Awards

And the winners of the New York Film Critics Awards are:

• Picture: “Slumdog Millionaire”
• Director: Danny Boyle w/ Loveleen Tandan - “Slumdog Millionaire”
• Actor: Sean Penn - “Milk”
• Actress: Sally Hawkins - “Happy-Go-Lucky”
• Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger - “The Dark Knight”
• Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz - “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
• Cinematography: Slumdog Millionaire - Anthony Dod Mantle
• Screenplay: “Slumdog Millionaire” - Simon Beaufoy
• Foreign Picture: “4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days”
• Documentary: “Man on Wire”
• Animated Feature: “Wall-E”
• Score: Slumdog Millionaire - “A.R. Rahman”
• Breakout Performance: Sally Hawkins - “Happy-Go-Lucky”
• Debut As Director: Martin McDonagh - “In Bruges”
• Ensemble Performance: Milk”
• 10 Best Pictures (alphabetical)

“Che”
“A Christmas Tale”
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Happy-Go-Lucky”
“Milk”
“Rachel Getting Married”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“Wall-E”
“The Wrestler”

More love for Slumdog. Will be seeing it later tonight.

Australia Pays Tribute To Heath

The Australian Film Institute has decided to award Heath Ledger the Best Actor award for his role as The Joker in "The Dark Knight." On top of that they made this touching tribute to the actor. It was a touching video, though I think it was unfair that they skipped over some of his brilliant comedic performances in "A Knight's Tale" and "Casanova." And while his family made a touching speech, I would prefer Michelle Williams and his daughter join his family when he's award his much deserved Oscar.

'Slumdog' Wins NBR

The National Board of Review has given out it's awards to what the voters felt were the best films of the year. Below is the full list of the awards given by the NBR:

• Best Film: SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
• Best Director: DAVID FINCHER, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Best Actor: CLINT EASTWOOD, Gran Torino
• Best Actress: ANNE HATHAWAY, Rachel Getting Married
• Best Supporting Actor: JOSH BROLIN, Milk
• Best Supporting Actress: PENELOPE CRUZ, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
• Best Foreign Language Film: MONGOL
• Best Documentary: MAN ON WIRE
• Best Animated Feature: WALL-E
• Best Ensemble Cast: DOUBT

• Breakthrough Performance by an Actor: DEV PATEL, Slumdog Millionaire
• Breakthrough Performance by an Actress: VIOLA DAVIS, Doubt
• Best Directorial Debut: COURTNEY HUNT, Frozen River
• Best Original Screenplay: NICK SCHENK, Gran Torino
• Best Adapted Screenplay: SIMON BEAUFOY, Slumdog Millionaire and
ERIC ROTH, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Spotlight Award: MELISSA LEO, Frozen River and
RICHARD JENKINS, The Visitor
• The BVLGARI Award for NBR Freedom of Expression: TRUMBO

• Top Ten Films:
(In alphabetical order)
BURN AFTER READING
CHANGELING
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
DEFIANCE
FROST/NIXON
GRAN TORINO
MILK
WALL-E
THE WRESTLER

• Top Five Foreign Language Films:
(In alphabetical order)
EDGE OF HEAVEN
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
ROMAN DE GUERRE
A SECRET
WALTZ WITH BASHIR

• Top Five Documentary Films
(In alphabetical order)
AMERICAN TEEN
THE BETRAYAL (NERAKHOON)
DEAR ZACHARY
ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD
ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED

• William K. Everson Film History Award: MOLLY HASKELL and ANDREW SARRIS

Now obviously the big deal for these results is that the independant film "Slumdog Millionaire" won the top prize, which should bode well for Fox Searchlight who released Oscar nominees "Little Miss Sunshine" and "Juno," and likely has similar Oscar hope with this film. Though I congradulate Fox on this win, this does not mean an Oscar win in the future (or even a nomination). The problem with this film is while it is critically acclaimed, unlike Sunshine and Juno, the audiences are ignoring this film completely at the box office, and so the word-of-mouth that drove the aforementioned films just isn't there. What is nice to know is that both "The Dark Knight" and "Wall•E" were among the top ten films of the year, which bodes well for their Oscar chances.

The Coen Brothers latest comedy "Burn After Reading" was also in this list, so we may see a screenplay nomination at the Oscars come yet. Of course "Wall•E" won the Best Animated Feature award, and Penelope Cruz won Best Supporting Actress for "Vicky Cristina Barcelon," proving what I suspected all along: That this performance would have legs and likely be remembered come awards season. Clint Eastwood won Best Actor for "Gran Torino," so this movie could be the big surprise at the Oscars. If there is an upset (and this can be considered so) is that Josh Brolin won Best Supporting Actor for "Milk." Which is all fine and good, seeing as how there are three potential Best Supporting Actor nominations coming from that movie. The thing that surprised people was that Heath Ledger was actually beat in this category.

It appears that while Heath may be considered a lock at the Oscars, he might not be a lock anywhere else. See folks, while I think we all agree he should win an Oscar for his role, there is a slight chance he'll lose. Now I post this list because it's interesting, but don't use these awards as a guide for how you should place your bets come Oscar night. The NBR and Academy rarely votes the same way, and the winners rarely match between the two. "No Country For Old Men" did but that was a rare exception. For now I'd like to congradulate "Slumdog Millionaire" for it's big win, and hoping it can go the distance come Oscar time.

Bale For Best Actor?

Warner Bros. is pushing hard for "The Dark Knight" to get a Best Picture nomination. Heath Ldger's nomination is a lock, with Aaron Eckart as a dark horse for a potential additional Best Supporting Actor nominee. Warner has been printing lots of ads, but aside from from the ads that do that silly "For Your Consideration In All Categories" ads, Warner has been focusing on four specific categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Actor. Wait a minute? Best Actor? Who are they pimping for Best Actor? Could they be pushing for Ledger for bother categories? No, they aren't. Besides, with Ledger having a lock on a win for the supporting race, Warner Bros. wouldn't want to jeoperdize that win. No, they are pushing for Christian Bale to get a nomination in the lead slot. Which is interesting because Bale, up until now, has not been given much respect for this movie, constantly being overshadowed by Ledger.

Now it looks like Warner Bros. is realizing what a great performace this is, and so they are pushing hard for it. It would add more credability to the film if they got a lead actor nomination. However, I don't think this is going to happen, and not because the field is too crowded. No, the reason it's not going to happen is this: Bale is not the lead actor in this film. None of the actors are. "The Dark Knight," at heart, is an essamble film. No key characters gets more or less screen time as the other characters, and when they do it's minimal at best. Bale may play Batman, but Batman has as much screentime as Joker and Gordon. Single him out as a lead is playing favorites in a cast where no actor is more or less important then the other. The only actor to get a significant less amount of screentime was Maggie Gyllenhaal, who is the only character who truly comes off as a "supporting" character if there is one.

Still, since there is such a big push, and since "The Dark Knight" is likely to be one of the biggest Oscar contenders this year, I'm going to put Bales name on the sidebar. Don't expect this to last though. In the next few weeks we've got "Australia," "Milk," "Frost/Nixon," "The Wrestler," and all these other movies that will more then likely push Bale off the rader (if he was ever there). For now though, best of luck to Warner Bros. on their Oscar campaign.

Batman's Road To Oscars

So "The Dark Knight" is officially going to be a contender at the Academy Awards (if Warner Bros. has anything to say about it), but what about the previous Batman Films? They got Oscar nominations too. A couple of them won too. But what got nominated for awards and what didn't? Let's take a look:

Batman The Movie

Nominations: 0

Really guys, did you think this was going to get nominated for anything? I didn't think so. Alright, let's get serious about this.

Batman

Nominations: 1

Best Art Direction (Won)

This award makes the most sense, seeing as how the movie was praised for it's look more then it's story or depth (though it IS a good movie). This would be the first nomination but not the last.

Batman Returns

Nominations: 2

Best Visual Effects
Best Makeup

Yet more visual awards, but this time the film came away empty handed. Oh well, life moves on.

Batman Forever

Nominations: 3

Best Sound
Best Sound Editing
Best Cinematography

Hard to believe that the Batman movie with the most Oscar nominations comes from a Schumacher film. Luckily the film didn't win any awards.

Batman & Robin

Nominations: 0

While I would not have minded a couple of effects nominations, I'm glad the Academy decided to completely snub this film. After all, this was the film that killed the Batman franchise, and to honor it with awards would seem pretty cruel.

Batman Begins

Nominations: 1

Best Cinematography

Yet another lone nomination. And again it went home empty handed. Such is life, which brings us to...



..."The Dark Knight." Though only the original "Batman" film has won an actual Oscar, "The Dark Knight" is likely to change that. This is the first superhero film that could get a Best Picture nomination. Heath Ledger will likely be the first person to get an acting award for his performance. We're potentially looking at comic book movie history in the making. And what an exciting thing that is.

The Unsung Hero

While all the performances in "The Dark Knight" are spectacular, only one has been given a lot of press: the late Heath Ledger. That said though, I believe that there's at least one other performance that should be just as acclaimed in this movie and should be receiving talk of a Best Supporting Actor nomination. That actor is Aaron Eckhart playing Harvey Dent (AKA: Two-Face). I know that the Joker is a force to be reckoned with, but Dent's character is really the soul of the movie. While on the outside a war is being waged against two public figures, the real battle is for Dent's soul. Batman wants to protect Dent so that he can move on with his life and put up the cape. Joker wants Dent to fall because he knows what it will do to Gotham if their "Knight In Shinning Armor" were to betray them.

It's a powerful performance, one that Eckhart has to play convincingly or else the entire subtext of the story could crumble. Under his acting though it never does, and it's a shame he's not getting the dues he deserves. So for now I'm going to throw his name into the Best Supporting Actor pot. I know it will likely be removed around October, but just for awhile I want to give credit where credit is not being given enough.

I Wonder What Warner Bros. Plans To Do With All That Money

"The Dark Knight" is going to pass the $500 million mark this weekend. That much is a given but that's not what I want to talk about. No, I want to talk about the movie as it's seen in IMAX. As with most IMAX theaters, my local theater didn't get this movie until today. I had seen it three times already so this would be my forth. I knew that twenty minutes of the movie was shot with IMAX camera's. What I didn't think of was how this could potentially affect the Best Director race. Right now everyone is talking about what Oscars "The Dark Knight" will be nominated for; Best Supporting Actor, Best Picture, Best Makeup...everything. And though Christopher Nolan is predicted to get a Best Director nomination I think he's going to actually win it.

Integrating the IMAX scenes in with the regular cinemascope was pure genius. Not only are the scenes edited together in ways that they aren't distracting, but they made the movie a THEATER experience above all else! In a world where plasma TV's and bright texting is hurting the theater, the direction of "The Dark Knight" actually makes the IMAX experience the best way to see this movie. I saw the movie with about ten people last night. Four had not seen the movie and of those four two had never been to IMAX. Well, once they saw this movie on IMAX they were sold. Not only did they plan to see it again, they started asking what the next films would be on IMAX. They were actually excited about this theater, and they knew the DVD would never match up to what they just saw.

As of right now Christopher Nolan has made the theater experience more profitable and more exciting then it's been in years. We know this movie is likely going to get a Best Picture nomination. We know Heath Ledger will win Best Supporting Actor. Well count me in on betting that even if the movie doesn't win the top prize, Christopher Nolan WILL win Best Director! Unless, of course, the Academy gives the award to Spike Lee as a way of apologizing for not nominating "Do The Right Thing" for Best Picture.

Christopher Nolan filming a scene with an IMAX camera.

A Forth Trailer For "The Dark Knight"

Well, technically this is a third trailer (the first was a teaser), but what a trailer it is. If they haven't convinced everyone to see this movie from the first three trailers, the rave reviews, and the Heath Ledger factor, chances are this will push those few unfortunate souls into the theaters to see one of the biggest theatrical events since "Finding Nemo."