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Oscar nominees: How bad did they mess it up?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Next Sunday is the Oscars, the event we love to hate.
Seriously, can you think of anything else that so many people say is long and boring and not worth watching and then we all watch it anyway? And the next day we complain about how long and boring it was?
But there’s more to whine about than that. We can also fuss about what movies and actors got overlooked in the nominations. And this year there were a couple of doozies.
Have you seen “Gran Torino,” the amazing Clint Eastwood movie? It didn’t get one single nomination, and it was as good or better than any of the Best Picture nominees. And Eastwood himself, non-nominated for Best Actor, could whip all five of the nominees and then go sit on his porch and sip a beer and not even be breathing hard.
How about “Wall-E,” possibly the best animated movie ever made? It has so much more heart than the over-rated “Benjamin Button.” Heck, there were 10 or 20 movies in 2008 better than “Benjamin Button,” from “Dark Knight” to — heck yeah! — “Tropic Thunder.”
Do you have a problem with this year’s nominations? What got in? What got left out?
If you can’t remember who’s nominated, you can check it out here. Sound off. You’ll feel better.
Come back tomorrow, and we’ll talk about another Oscar topic.
Permalink | Comments (21) | Post your comment | Categories: Oscars
Comments
By Suzee
February 16, 2009 8:24 AM | Link to this
Haven’t seen all the movies nominated, but I did check out Gran Torino and couldn’t believe that the movie or Mr Eastwood did not receive a single nomination. The Hollywood machine at work.
By Too Easy
February 16, 2009 8:29 AM | Link to this
Still trying to figure out why I have a tendency to see only the non-nominated movies. Maybe it’s because they have better previews.
By Trent
February 16, 2009 8:33 AM | Link to this
Clint Eastwood was good but how about Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler???? I know he received a nomination for best actor but how did the movie not receive a nod for best picture? Unbelieveable!
By fsg
February 16, 2009 8:44 AM | Link to this
I was absolutely shocked that Gran Torino got nothing, while Benjamin Button, which I won’t see because it has no appeal to me whatsoever, has gotten all of these nominations. The other odd Best Picture selection is Frost/Nixon - it’s a filmed play, and I’m sure that it’s well acted, but - meh. One play adaptation in the BP race per year is enough. Gran Torino and Wall-E deserved those two slots.
I don’t understand all of the critical fascination with Dark Knight as being snubbed - it was good, but it was the sequel of a better movie. And the best 2008 comic book movie was Iron Man, anyway.
All of that being said, hopefully Slumdog will win - it’s very different from the norm, and very well done, so it’s a very deserving Best Picture.
By lovelyliz
February 16, 2009 9:07 AM | Link to this
There are always more great movies than there are nominees. That being said I woulld like to take the arguement one step further.
Why is it so hard for Hollywood to recognize stellar performances in films that overall just aren’t that great?
You have a better shot at getting nominated if you have a good performance (acting, cinematography, sound editing, directing, etc) in a good film than if you do an outstanding job in a movie that is not all that fabulous.
By Joshua Barlowe
February 16, 2009 9:34 AM | Link to this
Wall-E is nowhere close to the best animated movie ever, only liberals believe that because of the Environmentalist Religious movement. The Incredibles still holds that title.
By festus
February 16, 2009 9:41 AM | Link to this
Brangelina was able to highjack the nominations this year for sure. As I get older and more cynical, I realize that the oscars have always been a high school popularity contest. They do frequently get it right, but it’s all about the politics. I’m sure other awards are just as political, but I tend to favor the New York Critics Circle or SAG over the oscars these days.
By SAR
February 16, 2009 9:50 AM | Link to this
Eastwood is suffereing the liberal Hollywood backlash because he didn’t have Obama for President inked on his forehead. Slumdog Millionaire is the critics hand picked choice this year. Slumdog is okay but it is amazingly and overwhlemingly overrated. It’s one of ‘those’ movies you’re made to feel inferior if you don’t get it. Yawn. The Wrestler is hands down better than Slumdog. How long has Thirty- Rock been around and Tina Fey, yet this comedy has been awarded everything this year because Tina Fey knocked Sarah Palin off her hopes of being VP. It’s all politics and very, very little about movies. Dark Knight was horrible, long and boring and only popular because of the death of one of the actors.
By Elizabeth
February 16, 2009 9:58 AM | Link to this
Have no desire to see Ben. Button or the Reader(read the book yrs ago and hated it.) Frost/Nixon looks good and will see it sometime. I did see Slumdog Millionaire and loved it! Very well done and had an original, interesting story with great characters and acting, and it deserves all the awards it has gotten.
By Joe
February 16, 2009 10:37 AM | Link to this
Gran Torino was hands down the best movie of the year. It INSTANTLY made my top 10 movies of all time list. It is RIDICULOUS that it wasn’t nominated for best picture, best actor in a leading role, and best director. UGH!
By Joe
February 16, 2009 10:39 AM | Link to this
Gran Torino was hands down the best movie of the year. It INSTANTLY made my top 10 movies of all time list. It is RIDICULOUS that it wasn’t nominated for best picture, best actor in a leading role, and best director. UGH!
By lainga
February 16, 2009 10:44 AM | Link to this
Agreed…Gran Torino was awesome. Best movie I’ve seen in a long time.
By lainga
February 16, 2009 10:45 AM | Link to this
Agreed…Gran Torino was awesome. Best movie I’ve seen in a long time.
By bb
February 16, 2009 11:02 AM | Link to this
It really bugs me that oscar movies are usually only released in small release in Dec. I like to see the movies before the oscars. Didn’t want to see Benjamin Button- really liked it though- very forest Gumpish. Frost/Nixon- very good not best movie though- maybe best actor the guy who did Nixon amazing. Slumdog Millionaire- Great-New- Loved it should win. Have not seen the other two. Gran Torino- good. Heath Ledger- for sure- miss him. Meryl Streep- Doubt- wow. Haven’t seen the Wrestler- I am looking forward to it. Wall-E good not the best ever.
By Voter
February 16, 2009 12:23 PM | Link to this
Gran Torina was absolutely the best! I was shocked that it was so overlooked!
By Voter
February 16, 2009 12:25 PM | Link to this
Gran Torino was absolutely the best movie of the year. I was very surprised it was so overlooked.
By Stuart
February 16, 2009 1:16 PM | Link to this
The Wrestler and The Dark Knight were snubbed. Both deserved Best Picture and Best Director nominations (to go along with Best Adapted Screenplay for The Dark Knight and Best Original Song for The Wrestler). And as a few have mentioned, Gran Torino was overlooked for Best Actor and Best Original Song (though I can’t quite squeeze it in for Best Picture or any other category to be honest, even though it was a very good movie).
Overall, usually there are one or two snubs regarding Oscar nominations and I can deal with it because they usually aren’t the favorites anyway. However, this year is just a huge year of snubs which is very disappointing. Although, I just hope Slumdog Millionaire wins for Best Picture/Director because it should.
By Deke
February 16, 2009 1:51 PM | Link to this
Kate Winslet was nominated for the wrong film, IMO. ‘Revolutionary Road’ deserves more attention than it has received, and ‘Benjamin Button’ has received FAR too much more than it deserves. It’s a decent movie, but far overhyped and overrated. ‘The Wrestler’ and ‘The Dark Knight’ should have replaced ‘Frost/Nixon’ and ‘The Reader’ in the nominations for Best Picture. Also, Springsteen’s snub for his song from ‘The Wrestler’ was a HUGE oversight. It’s such a complement to the overall story, it was a complete injustice that it wasn’t recognized.
By Atico
February 18, 2009 8:31 AM | Link to this
Gran Torino was the best hands down. Oscars have always been political, and they remain just that.
By The One
February 18, 2009 11:13 AM | Link to this
Slumdog, Slumdog, Slumdog, Slumdog (in my best chanting cheer)
By Mike
February 18, 2009 11:27 AM | Link to this
Eastwood should have had a best actor nominee for Gran Torino! This was a major overlook by the committee.