Best of the 2000s: Movies (Part 1)

One of my favorite sports writers , or at least the only one I quote all the time, is Bill Simmons. Known as The Sports Guy, Simmons headlines a series of podcasts for ESPN.com, which also posts a link to his blog on their front page. I'm addicted to this guy's writing - his dry sense of humor, constant great-film analogies, and abundant tangents always leave me anxious for the next 10,000+ word article.

During a recent piece re-capping the NBA offseason, Simmons applied 50 quotes from one of the best movies of this decade, Almost Famous, to cover the NBA's summer. On a tangent, he's polling his audience on the best movie of the past decade. His argument for the best movie is Almost Famous - especially the "Untitled" bootleg version found in the special edition DVD. While I disagree, I totally respect the pick. If you read his article, his rational justifies it to land somewhere in your top 20. (Don't worry, I'll post a link at the bottom)

Intrigued by his idea, I'm following his footsteps. If you don't know me yet, you'll soon discover that most of my entries are lists representing the Top 10 of whatever I can think of. If you've seen the film or read the book High Fidelity, you'll quickly compare me to the main character, Rob Gordon. Just picture your basic good-guy who never lives up to his potential, lives in a big city, owns a beat-down record store, and hangs out with the same 2 people because he's too lazy to meet new friends. That's my plan-B if I ever fail to live up to my potential ... except instead of a record store, I'll have a Blockbuster, DVD Warehouse, or something involving movies.

Being 24 years old, the 2000s have been my friends' coming-of-age decade. We can now drive; we've voted (most of us, twice); and we've graduated from high school and college; and most of us have started the career path or actively pursue graduate degrees.

For two of my friends, we've filled in the gaps of these major events by talking about the same thing for the last 10 years.

For Sam Gooley, it's movies. In March, 1999, we were so pissed that Shakespeare in Love beat out Saving Private Ryan for Best Picture of 1998 at the Oscars, we decided to start our own awards ceremony ... even if nobody else cared or even knew about it. Every year since, on Oscar Night, we have the Sullivan-Gooley Awards to honor the TRUE best pictures, best performances, and technical achievements of the previous year. It's been 10 years of SG Awards (Sports Guy, I hope you're reading this), and we've only just begun. Sam's in NYC - I'm in Raleigh, NC; but we catch up on movies every week and meet up every year for the annual SG Awards.

For Chris Miller, it's college football. While we haven't started our own version of College Gameday yet (we like the original too much), we start making our personal Top-25's every week starting about now, and already can't wait to see which SEC powerhouse will pounce on a Big Ten joke in January. Every August we cristen the season with a long chat about Florida (my team since birth), Georgia (his alma mater), and how awful the Big Ten is at everything. He's in Charleston, SC - I'm still in Raleigh; but our conversation picks up without a beat every August.

Throughout August, I've written a series of articles dedicated to Sam, Chris, and the 2000s. Up first comes the Top 20 Films from 2000 - 2009, thanks to a thought sparked while reading an article on the NBA offseason by Bill Simmons. We'll begin with 20-11, and will feature a separate article for each of the Top 10. Following the films, we'll count down NCAA football traditions in the BCS era. So if you don't like me rambling about movies, just wait a couple weeks and we'll chat football.


Criteria for the Top 20:

1. Quality of film

2. Lasting effect on the memory - remembering not just seeing the movie, but the feelings you felt while watching it. We've all seen movies that were great, yet we forgot them the next day. Those movies will not make this cut.

3. Rewatchability - whether you can discover new things with each viewing, sheer entertainment value, or putting it on when you're in the mood to watch something great.


#20: No Country For Old Men (2007)

If you're anything like me, your first thought after watching No Country for Old Men was, "WTF?" I know I liked it - it was technically flawless, captured the tension perfectly with pin-point editing and cinematography, and had a character who would give Hannibal Lectar nightmares - but I still had no idea what just happened over the course of two hours.

So I saw it again; still I thought "WTF'" but I had much more respect. I now knew that Ed Tom Bell (classic redneck name, by the way) was the main character, although he didn't appear until a half hour into the movie. I also knew that it was a character study - not by the characters, but on the idea of evil. Having already known what to expect in terms of suspense in plot, I could study the endless symbolisms recurring throughout the film ...so many symbolisms...

...that I saw it again. And loved it. I've never had to see a film three times to finally discover that I loved it. It's not your fairy-tale, happy-go-lucky movie. It's evil. It's a warning of what can happen if you don't adapt to a change in times. Do you remember that killer in your nightmares that seems to be moving at the same pace; yet you can never escape him, no matter how fast you run? That's what No Country For Old Men is about ... that ever-present pace of "what's coming if you don't move on."

Moving on...


#19. Gangs of New York (2002)

This film makes the list for 3 scenes:

1.) The first 10 minutes. Everything from the score (the high-pitch flute, followed by Peter Gabriel's "Signal to Noise"), art direction, flowing cinematography, and classic showdown between Priest Vallon and Bill the Butcher.

2.) When the Irish arrive, there's one shot that shows the men receiving their Union uniforms, boarding new boats, and being brought home in "wooden suits" that line the harbor. This scene is haunting, especially with Scorsese using an Irish lullaby as the score.

3.) Bill the Butcher's monologue - sitting bedside to Amsterdam, draped in the American flag - about Fear.


#18. Children of Men (2006)

Imagine what it was like when Jesus was born. Baby boys were being slaughtered across the largest empire in the world, and ordered to do so by their king. The world was in turmoil - consumed in evil; and Mary and Joseph had to risk their lives in a daring escape to have their child.

Such is the backdrop of Children of Men - a modern-day Christmas story told through the eyes of visionary director Alfonso Cuaron. It's violent, graphic, and so realistic that non-believers may miss the moral of the story: through our darkest hour comes the our brightest hope for the future. Although most of the film focuses on our darkest hour, it's in the last 10 minutes - when a crying baby brings soldiers to their knees - do tears of joy flood they eyes of all who see it.


#17. Million Dollar Baby (2004)

What quickly turns from "one of the greatest sports films ever" to "let's make a statement on euthanasia," Million Dollar Baby's controversial twist is saved by the storytelling of director, writer, actor, and composer (yup, he even wrote the music, too) Clint Eastwood. For the first 90 minutes, Eastwood had me fooled: I thought it was a movie about boxing. Instead, it's a movie about pulling the plug - pulling the plug on a life of regret; pulling the plug on a life filled with loss; pulling the plug on the inability to forgive yourself for the mistakes you've made throughout your lifetime. Million Dollar Baby is about letting go, even when it goes against everything you stand for.


#16. There Will be Blood (2007)

Nearly 18 minutes into the film, we are greeted by our protagonist, Daniel Plainview. "Ladies and gentleman," he begins. Thus, we are introduced to one of the most ambitious characters portrayed on screen. Much like No Country for Old Men was a study on the idea of evil, There Will Be Blood is a study on the idea of power, and the sacrifices two men make in order to acquire it.

The first is Mr. Plainview, portrayed by Daniel Day Lewis in one of the most haunting performances in cinematic history. Plainview doesn't hesitate to adopt a fatherless boy for the sole purpose of convincing prospects he's a family man; pretend to get "saved" at a Christian worship service so he could drill a pipeline through a church-member's property; or kill a man who pretends to be a long-lost brother.

The other is Eli Sunday, a young pastor who runs the town Mr. Plainview wishes to take over. Sunday - while gentle and pious on the surface - unravels throughout the course of the film, compromising his own faith in exchange for monetary reward and control of his parishioners.

At the end of the film there will, in fact, be blood; and while the image at first may disturb and bother many, the viewers will feel regret neither for the killer nor the victim.


#15. Kill Bill (Vol. I & II) (2003-2004)

Volume One makes the statement while Volume Two fills in all the cracks. While each could stand on its own, Vol. I & II work together like Metcalf's Law to prove Kill Bill is more than the sum of its parts. It's a classic tale of revenge, style and homage to classic martial arts as only Quentin Tarantino can tell it.


#14. Chicago (2002)

I hate musicals. No matter how good I feel, I will never spontaneously break out into song and dance. I'm a logical person, and I know people just don't do that. You'll never see me singing in the rain; you'll never see me tell a story about the West Side that involves choreographed fighting; and you will NEVER see me skid-a-ma-ring-kee-dink anything.

But Chicago is different. The only musical number that takes place in real time - and not in the mind of the characters - is the opening sequence of "All That Jazz." Most of the others are interpreted through the eyes and imagination of Roxy Hart, the wannabe performer who makes her name by killing the man she's sleeping with. "Cell Block Tango," "They Both Reached for the Gun," and "Tap Dance" are Roxy's disillusioned interpretations of the situations she finds herself in. Director Gary Marshall drawns a clear line between Roxy's rendtions and the reality she inhabits; this separation gives audience members who aren't big fans of musicals (myself included) the opportunity to actually enjoy a musical.

Chicago is not like any other musical in that it's realistic. Are some of its plot lines a bit over the top? Absolutely, but so is Chicago. Pay close attention to John C. Reilly (Amos Hart, aka Mr. Cellophane) as he steals almost every scene he's in. Reilly was in 4 movies in 2002, and 3 were nominated for Best Picture (Chicago, The Hours, and Gangs of New York. The other was The Good Girl, an fantastic dark comedy starring Jennifer Anniston and Jake Gyllenhaal), making him one of the most underrated actors of the decade.

#13. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Arguably the most complete film of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring introduces the world to Frodo, Sam, and the clan who depart to save Middle Earth and destroy the "one ring to rule them all." Through not as epic in scope as The Two Towers or The Return of the King, The Fellowship of the Ring spends most its time allowing us to meet the characters. Since so many play an intricate role in Frodo's journey, we must be able to relate to them when their time comes to contribute.

With so much riding on the future of the franchise (at the time of its release, the Lord of the Rings Trilogy was the most expensive project ever, at $300 million), The Fellowship of the Ring not only catapulted the trilogy into the limelight, but set the tone for the greatest journey in film history.

#12. The Dark Knight (2008)

"Heath Ledger is going to play the Joker? The same guy who played Casanova - who starred in the biggest gay romance ever; THIS is the guy they chose to take over the villain played so perfectly by Jack Nicholson? Dang, this movie is going to suck."

Those were my words. Those were a lot of people's words when they found out who signed on to play the Joker. The good news: director Christopher Nolan knows precisely what to include in each of his works. And just take a look at his brief, but strong resume: Memento, Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Prestige, and The Dark Knight.

This man knows how to create a dark character, and his work couldn't have been better exemplified than Heath Ledger's rendition of the Joker. Not only did Ledger pick up an Oscar and Sullivan-Gooley Award, his performance will go down as one of the most memorable, and one of the most haunting. Nolan also proved himself capable of handling an ensemble production and larger scale than Batman Begins. Several compared The Dark Knight to another sequel that took the original to another level: The Godfather, Part II. While it may not receive the accolades of The Godfather, The Dark Knight will surely be placed next to the Corleone family as an unforgettable masterpiece.

#11. The Departed (2006)

We're 17 minutes into The Departed when the Dropkick Murphy's come crashing in with "I'm Shipping Off to Boston." Such is the Boston Police Department: not as much a police force you're willing to serve for; rather, a police force you're shipped off to ... like going to after-school detention.

17 minutes in, and I feel like I've seen an entire film. The first sequence is an addrenaline rush brought about in swift strokes by Martin Scorsese. We're quickly brought up to speed with all of our characters:

Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is recruited as a boy to work for crime lord Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). Colin graduates the police academy along with Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio), and gets promoted through the ranks so fast that he's already a private detective before Costigan leaves his post-graduation interview with Chief Queenan (Martin Sheen) and Detective Dignam (Mark Wahlberg). Instead of becoming a true-blue cop, Costigan (DiCaprio) gets sent undercover in order to infiltrate Costello's (Nicholson's) regime.

Such begins the best cat-and-mouse game I've ever seen. Damon's a criminal posing as a cop; DiCaptrio's a cop posing as a criminal. Damon's assignment is to catch the rat in the police force (himself); and DiCapio's assigned to look out for the cop in Nicholson's crew (himself). Both realize the stress involved in playing both sides, and soon discover that nobody's on your side if you're on nobody's side.

There isn't a weak performance in the film (except Vera Cormiga, whose role could have been played by anyone), with stellar supporting turns led by Alec Baldwin, Mark Wahlberg, and Ray Winstone (Mr. French). While the fate of most of these characters lies within the film's title, it's how they meet their fate that makes The Departed the #11 film of the 2000s.

Stay tuned for #10, posting real soon.

For more information on Bill Simmons, check out his blog at http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/simmons/index

For more information on Sam Gooley, check out his blog at http://gooleysmovies.blogspot.com/

Funny People - Apatow's Free Pass

"Fielder's choice" is a common baseball term in which the defense says, "instead of throwing out the batter who hit this weak ground ball, we're going to throw out the guy running home instead. We don't care if the batter reaches first base; we just don't want that other guy to make it home."

For statistics purposes, the batter gets credited with neither a hit nor an out. Because his plate appearance counts as an at-bat, his batting average drops although he successfully reached first base.

Now before you start wondering why on earth Mike is talking about baseball during a review of a comedy that has nothing to do with baseball, I want to beat the following analogy into the ground:

Judd Apatow -- director of the nothing-is-wrong-with-it-except-the-feeling-I-had-when-I-woke-up-and-left-the-theatre (NIWWIETFIHWIWUALTT) film, Funny People -- will serve as the batter who successfully reaches first base.

Mike Sullivan -- the un-noticed and way-too-obsessed-with-hyphens movie critic -- will serve as the defensive player who fields the ground ball and throws out the runner at home.

Adam Sandler -- star of the NIWWIETFIHWIWUALTT film by Judd Apatow -- will serve as the base-runner who had to settle with a triple after hitting a bomb off the top of the center field wall. He almost hit a home run, but will unfortunately be thrown out due to the selfishness of the batter who tried to swing for the fences instead of trying to advance the runner on third.

Everyone confused? Perfect. Let's start the movie review.

So far, Judd Apatow is batting 2-for-2 with 2 home runs.

His first appearance, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, was a comic gem that surprised everyone who thought it was going to be a shallow, gross-out comedy with no point other than a few cheap laughs for a $10 ticket. Instead it warmed our hearts, allowed the performances to steal the show, and introduced the world to a different type of humor.

His second time in the director's chair, Knocked Up, made a star of Seth Rogan; proved Katherine Heigl could carry something other than a supporting role in a TV show or movie starring Johnny Knoxville (that's right ... The Ringer); and let us all know Judd Apatow is just beginning.

Now it's his third time to the plate and his confidence is soaring. He's returned Rogan, Leslie Mann, and Jonah Hill, and picked up a who's-who of classic comedians for cameo appearances.
On top of that, he has signed box-office giant Adam Sandler to star in an epic tale of a dying comedian trying to salvage a life of loneliness due to greed, selfishness, and ego. Instead of saying, "I think it would be fun to run a newspaper," imagine Charles Foster Kane saying, "I think it would be fun to do stand up;" then you would have the foundation of Sandler's character, George Simmons. (And if you don't know who Charles Foster Kane is ... well ... I don't know you.)

With total control of the film - from writing, directing, and having final cut: meaning he's got the last say in what's released to theatres - Apatow aims to make "Funny People" an epic piece on the life of stand-up comedy.

Unfortunately ... this film doesn't have the feel of an epic. It's still a comedy; and comedies aren't supposed to be 2 hours, 30 minutes long. To quote good buddy of mine and fellow movie geek Sam Gooley (his review can be found at http://gooleysmovies.blogspot.com/2009/08/funny-people-review.html), "Funny People" flatlines in the last hour because Apatow attempts to cram too many personal ideas into a 2-hour film. Because "Funny People" is his baby; and he's trying to put on the screen a topic so personal to him, Apatow couldn't part with many of the scenes that should have been kept for the "extended director's cut" feature of the DVD.

Is this movie bad? Absolutely not! In fact, I don't think there's a weak performance or scene in the movie. I just think there are too many scenes to do the movie any good.

The first hour is amazing; Sandler and Rogan team up for a mentor/up-and-comer bro-mance that touches on dark humor, gross-out comedy, uncomfortable Ben-Stiller-in-Meet-The-Parents humor, stand-up storytelling ... I pretty much laughed in every way possible during the first hour.

Then comes the plot-twist that everyone saw in the preview, so I won't spoil it when I say that George Simmons (Sandler's character) is getting better. As Sam Gooley would say, "We've already started the sequel an hour through the first movie! Why don't we just finish the first movie first?"

Right when George gets back from the doctor's office: this is the point where you can get popcorn, visit the bathroom, make a phone call, take a nap, or just space out for 20 minutes. Just make sure to wake up when you see Eric Bana talking about Cameron Diaz or Aussie-rules futbol. Then go back to sleep for another 10-15 minutes. Tell the people you came with, "come get me/wake me up/ snap your fingers whenever they get back to the Sandler/Rogan bro-mance."

Now that I think about it, there's an entire 45 minute subplot that could have been summarized in one scene between George and his ex-girlfriend on his outside balcony. But I digress...

Let's conclude with the random baseball analogy that began this already-too-long review.

Why is Sandler the runner that gets thrown out at home?

Answer: his performance is just short of perfection. This is a semi-autobiographical take on his life, and he digs deep to deliver his whole bag of tricks. He shows us every aspect of his humor that has made us fall in love with him over the last 20 years (that's right, he starred in "Going Overboard" in 1989 and started SNL in 1990), and a charisma that'll last for many films to come. All the humor that made Sandler famous is now dated; and Sandler doesn't hesitate to make fun of his own work. He's also aware that the torch will be passed to a new era of comedy, which is embodied by Rogan, and under the leadership of Apatow himself. Sandler's performance is a lock for a Best Actor (Comedy) Golden Globe Nomination, and will go down as his most personal work to date ... not because of his humor, rather because of his new-found maturity. Unfortunately, he won't get an Oscar nomination, but will get thrown out at home...

Why is Apatow the batter who makes it to first?

... Apatow swings for the fences, and fails to connect. Remember in "The Aviator" when Howard Hughes took forever to complete "Hells Angels," and the film turned out to be a disappointment because of his over-obsession with making everything perfect? Remember when Hughes' editors said they had 270 hours of footage that needed to be cut down to 127 minutes? This is how I approach Apatow's direction of "Funny People." Although the first hour is complete, the film's main weakness comes from over-applied ambition that fails to deliver. In essence, Apatow swings for the fences, breaks his bat, and casts a dribbler down the third base line to the fielder...

Why am I the fielder?

... who lets him go to first. Apatow's film is a success, but it isn't. It's a failure, but it isn't. It's not a hit; but it's not an out. It'll hurt Apatow's average, but it won't hurt his previous home runs. I'm just the fielder ... and the ball was hit to me ... and how I view this film is my choice.

Pick Your Five!

Long before parents used it to spy on their kids' lives via online; way before 8th graders switched to it from AIM; and certainly before it's advertising team sent me a "Doug" cartoon advertisement in response to my posting of a Halloween costume (I went as Quail Man; my best friend Jimmy was Skeeter; and we rocked Franklin Street in Chapel Hill); Facebook was introduced to UNC-Chapel Hill.

Being that UNC was one of the first universities to catch on, I can almost say I've been around since the beginning. When my friends an I first joined, we were quasi-obsessed -- we tagged a photo here-and-there and occasionally wrote on each other's wall -- but would never have guessed "The Facebook" (yes, "The." Do you remember?) would have exploded like it has. Over the past four years I've seen "The Facebook" turn from a virtual yearbook into a worldwide phenomenon; a wave that's subscribed over 200 million users and turned Mark Zuckerberg into the fastest self-made billionaire in United States history.

When it first spread to high schools, we felt cheated. Now that all of us college people had something to connect with, we got that dreaded email saying "your little brother has requested to be your friend. The same little brother that wears the same clothes YOU wore in high school - the kid who will never take 'ignore' for an answer - would like to be your friend." I've actually never had any younger siblings, but had a lot of friends who weren't too fond of theirs ... so I can sorta relate.

Do you remember how superior your felt the first time you came back from college and went to a high school party? Or when you were the first to get that job out of college when all your buddies were still making out with a toilet in a frat house bathroom? Do you remember how cool it felt to finally be that guy who's out there living his life, and who everyone wants to know what he's up to now?

Yea, what if they already know ... because they're your Facebook friend. They already know that college is really 13th grade, your first job isn't paying crap, and that kissing a toilet seat is actually not as bad as kissing the rump of a boss. How would you feel if something like that happened to you? Cheated? Yea, we thought so too. That's why a lot of guys my age (23-24) have turned turned away from Facebook.

That is, until now.

Now it's freakin' everywhere. You can chat online instead of logging in to AIM and trying to figure out your friend's screen name. You can re-connect with people you haven't seen in 15 years, and stalk them if they accept your friend request out of pity and don't actually want to recap the last 15 years (I wasn't that cool growing up, I'll admit it. Much cooler now though!). You can join groups, poke people (what the hell is that, anyway? Poking. Is it a sexual thing? A gay thing? Or just something that's REALLY annoying that they've decided to keep since the beginning of Facebook. I swear it's like the Jar-Jar Binks of social networking.) take quizzes, and look at peronalized advertisements targeted to the information you list on your profile.

And then there are the "Pick Your Five" games. These things will be the death of me. I've been late to work, late getting to sleep, and apathetic to pretty much everyhing else. All because of these "Pick Your Five" lists. Do I look at my friends' pick-5 lists? Not really. Maybe to see if they've made a list I haven't already filled out, or if it's a topic about movies and they've said "The Notebook" is the best movie ever. To be honest, if you fill these things out, I'd make a bet that hardly any of your friends care what your 5 actually are. They will, however, want to take your 5 and make it their own top 5.

One of the best scenes in cinematic history comes in High Fidelity when Rob lists his Top 5 Track 1's and Barry calls him a pansy for giving "safe" answers.

(Safe (n.) - a cliche answer to a question that should really set you apart from anyone else. A "safe" answer would be a movie critic citing one of the following in their Top 5 Films Ever Made: Casablanca, Citizen Kane, or The Godfather 1 or 2. If you ask a girl her Top 5 Favorite Films Ever Made, a "safe" answer would be one of the following 5 options: I Don't Know (an answer that could easily take up all of the Top 5), The Notebook, Love Actually, When Harry Met Sally, or Sleepless in Seattle (If they're still a teenager, you can substitute 2009 MTV Best Movie Award winner Twilight for When Harry Met Sally)

"Safe" answers given in film:

Adaptation: When Meryl Streep answers the question "What person - dead or alive - would you want to have dinner with?" by saying "Mother Theresa ... or Jesus"

High Fidelity: Rob's Top 5 Track 1's. You must see the movie to see what they are, but in the mean time, let's end the longest tangent ever!)

Why do people give "safe" answers? Because they're either too afraid of what other people will think; or they truly don't want to think for themselves, so they revert to cliches to satisfy the person asking the question. But what if a person got to choose their own category? What if they had all the time to formulate their own 5 ... and without any worry of being late for work, losing sleep, or anything else going on in the world? Now EVERYONE can be a critic! EVERYONE can participate! Will anyone read these Pick-Five's? Absolutely not. But that doesn't matter. Freedom of speech is back, darnit! Even if we don't care what you're saying!

The 10th Annual Sullivan Gooley Awards!

Welcome friends, the time has finally arrived!

After 9 years of disagreement with the Academy's picks, Sam and I have chosen to launch the Sullivan-Gooley Awards the one year we are on the same side as the Academy.

Without further ado, here are our winners:


Visual Effects - The Curious Case Benjamin Button

How on earth did they turn Brad Pitt into a "lawn gnome," as Will Smith so accurately described it?


Sound Effects Editing - The Dark Knight

Inserting unrelated sounds to create a more realistic film-going experience... How else would you describe the sound of a Batmobile?


Sound Mixing - Slumdog Millionaire

Combining the clanks of children sprinting on tin rooftops, the yelling/cheering of their voices, and the adreneline-boosting percussion of A.R. Rahman's "O Saya," the opening sequence alone should merit the Sound Mixing award.


Song - "The Wrestler," by Bruce Springsteen, The Wrestler

The Boss gives us the Cliff's Notes to The Wrestler with this aptly titled parable about self-pity. This is by far the most shocking omission to this year's Oscars.


Score - Slumdog Millionaire

Part of how we get lost in Danny Boyle's masterpiece are the emotions triggered through A.R. Rachman's mesmerizing score. A perfect companion to the adventurous plot, direction, and editing, Slumdog Millionaire's music guides our emotions in near-direct correlation to the feelings of Jamal; this is a feat not easily accomplished considering the roller-coaster of emotions we experience in this 10+ year epic.


Makeup - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

See Visual Effects, then have the Lawn Gnome age backwards 70 years.


Film Editing - Slumdog Millionaire

See "Score," but visually...


Costume Design - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

It looks the most like what people wore from the 1920s until now. Not to say the other nominees were fake, but this represents the votes of 2 straight guys in the 21st century.


Cinematography - Slumdog Millionaire

Anthony Dod Mantle points the camera in better directions than the rest. Dutch angles abound, it's amazing how much emotion, action, and passion can be injected into one frame - over and over and over again.


Art Direction - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The evolution of the Benjamin Button's household is but one example of how Danny Boyle utilizes production design to trace the decades of the title character's lifetime.


Adapted Screenplay - Slumdog Millionaire

Classic storytelling. Period.

Original Screenplay - Milk

The story of Harvey Milk is controversial, vast, and touching. Never has the psyche of the gay community been so confidently broadcasted across this country.


Director - Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

His touch can be felt in every frame, yet executed in such a way that we lose ourselves in what the story - not the director - wants us to see next. Danny Boyle is the liason to Slumdog Millionaire's classic premise, yet it could never be classic without Danny Boyle's guidance.


Supporting Actress - Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler

Not to put an asterisk on Tomei's recognition, I still must admit that I never got the chance to see Vicky Christina Barcelona. Penelope Cruz was Sam's #1 pick for Best Supporting Actress, yet we had to both see the film to agree on a winner. Tomei's performance, however distant to Rourke's passion, reminds me of Eva Marie Saint's on-screen relationship with Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront. While a stripper, she's innocent and desperately seeking a life outside her own; even if it's a life with an ex-contender-turned-bum.

Supporting Actor - Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Speaking of Brando, we haven't seen a man totally absorbed in a character as Ledger in The Dark Knight. We also haven't seen a character so totally evil. Ledger's death leaves an even bigger aura surrounding the timeless character of the Joker.


Actress - Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road

Although she didn't deliver the most powerful performance in the movie, Kate Winslet's turn as a wife losing confidence in her husband's dream will haunt moviegoers for years ... if they ever went to the movie in the first place. To us, her performance was summed up in a look - a gaze given next to an oak tree in the twighlight of a marriage. Not to mention, her husband directed this performance. Also, on a side note, Sam and I hated The Reader.


Actor - Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Penn may have won the Oscar, but Rourke won immortality. Ten years from now, you may remember the Sean Penn finally took home the golden boy, but Rourke will be remembered.


Picture - Slumdog Millionaire

Knowledge: The ability to regurgitate facts. (This is how most of us were able to pass multiple choice tests in college without ever learning anything.)

Intelligence: The ability to interpret facts for an intended purpose. (It's not knowing; it's understanding.)

Wisdom: The application of intelligence. (Lessons learned only from living life; the discovery of knowledge though experience.)

How has God proven his existance in your life? Chance occurances? Gut feelings? Miracles?Although no life is pre-determined, each of us have a destiny. What's cool is this: God gave us the power to choose how we achieve it. Our eternity will be measured by the decisions we make during this short stint on Earth; and it's when you act on total faith and dedication does your destiny reveal itself.

In the case of Jamal Malik, he's on a journey to find her.

Slumdog Millionaire questions the acquisition of knowledge; emphasizes the power of love; and lets us know that God can put it all into action. Jamal can only answer the questions he's given based on the wisdom he brings to the table. It just so happens that his life's experiences are in direct link to the questions he's given on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

Why?

Because that's the only way he can find her. He didn't ask to be on the show; he had to be. He didn't ask to win all that money; he had to answer the questions so that the nation would tune in and she could watch. He didn't ask to stay in touch with Salim; he had to find him to get his phone number. He didn't have to chase Latika; but he chose to fulfill his destiny.

Questions about how we came to these conclusions? Feel free to post a comment and we will both respond.