| And the nominees are...rated R |
|
| by Phil Boatwright |
When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its nominations for outstanding film achievements of 2008, four of the five Best Picture nominations went to R-rated movies. Hollywood forbid that funny and touching WALL•E, the most original, adroitly crafted film of the year -- and G-rated -- should be nominated for Best Picture. And Marley & Me, a pro-marriage and pro-life PG comedy that celebrates the preciousness of life, simply isn't dysfunctional enough for today's Academy voters. Here are the Academy's nominees for the Best Picture and my impressions: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a fantasy/drama about a man who ages backwards. While there is some adult subject matter, including an adulterous affair and the implying of sex outside marriage, it is infused with a message that each life has value. A religious philosophy is also found in the story as portrayed by a good-hearted woman who takes in the abandoned baby. She calls the baby a child of God and then proceeds to spend her own life behaving like one. Though the CGI ingenuity plays an important role in the success of bringing the book to cinematic life, the filmmakers see to it that these extra special effects contribute to the drama rather than overshadow it. Despite the film’s length, almost no one at the screening left for concessions or bathroom breaks. They were hooked by something they seldom see – involving storytelling that balances epic adventure with deeply personal narrative. Frost/Nixon focuses entirely on Nixon’s role in Watergate, not his accomplishments. It’s rated R for language and graphic depictions of the Vietnam War. Most disturbing, however, is the lack of authentication of the facts: Did the eccentric Nixon’s mental state really disintegrate as the interviews progressed? It is classified as a drama, implying a fictional account, but most viewers will come away with a bad taste in their mouths for the real characters portrayed in this resurrection of a very dark historical event. (These are the comments of my associate and friend Mary Draughon who reviewed Frost/Nixon for this end-of-the-year overtaxed film reporter.) Milk has director Gus Van Sant chronicling the life of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to gain political power in San Francisco. After serving on the Board of Supervisors and making huge strides for the gay community, Mr. Milk and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by Dan White, another elected supervisor. Once you get past the first hour, the film becomes an astute character study. But that first hour is so explicit in its sexuality that it’s difficult to distinguish The Reader from pornography. There’s a great deal of nudity and graphic sexual activity, which I’m sure the filmmakers would argue for in order to point out the effect this relationship was having on the young man. And I’m sure most of my secular colleagues in criticism will assert that the sexual situations are done “tastefully” and “powerfully.” But I kept thinking, what if this was an older man enticing a fifteen-year-old girl? Wouldn’t viewers find that coupling exploitive if not downright icky? Slumdog Millionaire concerns an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is about to win a staggering 20 million rupees on India's version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? The film opens with the lead being tortured by a nefarious group who think he cheated on the show. Between beatings and electric shocks he explains how he knew the answers. Alas this potent morality tale is justly rated R. As with last years tally, four of the five best picture nominations went to R-rated movies. Hollywood forbid, WALL•E, a G-rated film, should be nominated best picture. The most original, adroitly crafted film of the year, WALL•E was both funny and touching. And certainly MARLEY & ME, a PG comedy that celebrates the preciousness of life, is just not dysfunctional enough for today’s Academy voters. It’s pro-marriage and pro-life. And it’s only rated PG. Been a while since a PG film found its way into this category. Below find the entire list of films nominated for Oscars. The 81st Academy Awards ceremony, which will be hosted by Hugh Jackman, is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. (PT) Feb. 22 on ABC. Click on the links to view our reviews. Use your browser's BACK button to return here. Best motion picture of the year The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.), A Kennedy/Marshall Production, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin, Producers Performance by an actor in a leading role Richard Jenkins in The Visitor (Overture Films) Performance by an actor in a supporting role Josh Brolin in Milk (Focus Features) Performance by an actress in a leading role Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married (Sony Pictures Classics) Performance by an actress in a supporting role Amy Adams in Doubt (Miramax) Best animated feature film of the year Bolt (Walt Disney), Chris Williams and Byron Howard Changeling (Universal), Art Direction: James J. Murakami, Set Decoration: Gary Fettis Achievement in cinematography Changeling (Universal), Tom Stern Achievement in costume design Australia (20th Century Fox), Catherine Martin Achievement in directing The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Fincher Best documentary feature The Betrayal (Nerakhoon) (Cinema Guild), A Pandinlao Films Production, Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath Best documentary short subject The Conscience of Nhem En A Farallon Films Production, Steven Okazaki Achievement in film editing The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall Best foreign language film of the year The Baader Meinhof Complex A Constantin Film Production, Germany Achievement in makeup The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Greg Cannom Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.),Alexandre Desplat Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song) Down to Earth from WALL-E (Walt Disney), Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyric by Peter Gabriel Best animated short film La Maison en Petits Cubes A Robot Communications Production, Kunio Kato Best live action short film Auf der Strecke (On the Line) (Hamburg Shortfilmagency), An Academy of Media Arts Cologne Production, Reto Caffi Achievement in sound editing The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.), Richard King Achievement in sound mixing The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten Achievement in visual effect The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron Adapted screenplay The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Screenplay by Eric Roth, Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord Original screenplay Frozen River (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Courtney Hunt |
