And the winner is...

Slumdog Millionaire and its impressive eight Academy Awards including, of course, Best Picture of the year.

No real surprises tonight.  Slumdog won in 8 of the 10 prizes it was nominated for, losing only to itself in original song and The Dark Knight in sound editing (poetic justice?).

Sean Penn takes home his second best actor award and Kate Winslet got her first.  Penelope Cruz and Heath Ledger won the supporting trophies, with Ledger's parents and sister accepting the Oscar on his behalf.

I loved watching the shots of all the actors' reactions to Heath Ledger's win. I enjoyed how Danny Boyle got more excited for the other Slumdog winners than he did for himself.  Hugh Jackman did great (though am I alone in thinking everyone I've seen host recently did a good job?).  And does anyone know when Sophia Loren turned into a zombie? I was worried she was going to feast on Kate's brains.

The one upset of the night was the Japanese movie Departures beating out both Waltz with Bashir and The Class in the foreign film category.  I believe this category is so hard to predict because so few of them are seen until voting time. How else could a movie like Pan's Labyrinth two years ago, nominated six times over and winner of three Oscars, lose the prize for best foreign film? And a movie like City of God still flies completely under the radar.

Oscar Eve

It's Oscar weekend so I'll run through real quick and say what I think (or guess) will win and also what I would vote for if I was an Academy member.

Best Picture - Slumdog Millionaire will most likely win.  I loved it, but Milk would get my vote.

Best Director - Danny Boyle is the favorite here and he gets my vote too.

Best Actor - A tight race.  Mickey Rourke is right there, but I saw Sean Penn edges him (though a Frank Langella win won't completely surprise me either).  Penn gets my vote.

Best Actress - Kate Winslet is finally getting her Oscar due and I'll probably cry.  However, for this particular race my vote swung to Angelina Jolie this week after finally watching Changeling (I still have not seen Frozen River or Rachel Getting Married).

Best Supporting Actor - Heath. Ledger.

Best Supporting Actress - "They" say Penelope Cruz is the favorite in an extremely tight race with Viola Davis her closest competitor.  I'll go ahead a pick Davis to win, but her castmate Amy Adams would get my vote.

Original Screenplay - Some say Milk will win here as a consolation prize for losing Best Pic to Slumdog, but I think Wall-E takes home the prize.  Wall-E gets my vote as well.

Adapted Screenplay - I still want it clarified whether this is the best job of adaptation or the best screenplay that qualifies as adapted.  I think Benjamin Button wins for its total reimagining of Fitzgerald's 20 page short story unless Slumdog love extends to this category.  I'd vote for Slumdog.

Cinematography - Slumdog's spectacular photography of India will win as it should, though depending on the mood I was in at the time, I might for The Dark Knight.

Animated Movie - Wall-E x 2

Special Effects - Ben Button will probably win for its aging of Brad Pitt, but I'd vote for Dark Knight out of spite here.

I'll leave the rest of the categories alone as I either haven't seen enough of them, or still am not sure what they are (sound editing?)

Changeling

Changeling definitely falls into the category of "truth is stranger than fiction," because if this wasn't based on a true story, you wouldn't buy it.

A boy is returned to his mother after a five month disappearance, but his mother doesn't recognize him.  Is this, as the police insist, because she is in shock and the ordeal has also had physical manifestations in the boy, or is the mother the victim of a corrupt LAPD looking only to keep its image shining brightly in the public's collective eyes?

The mother, Christine Collins, played by Oscar nominated Angelina Jolie continues to fight the police and their insistence that the case is closed.  Only at the beginning of her and her son's "reunion" does she question whether she might be mistaken.

John Malkovich plays a local reverend who has made it his life's mission to challenge the LAPD and takes up Mrs. Collins's cause.  I'm normally not a fan of Malkovich but he is very good here.

The film is long, but only because it continues to present you with the facts of the case as they happened nearly 80 years ago in California.  It provokes anger at several injustices, sadness for a mother's loss and impotence, and hope that patience and persistence may overcome.

It also forces me to update my top 5 movies of the year: 

1. The Dark Knight

2. Milk

3. Slumdog Millionaire

4. Changeling

5. The Visitor

Oldboy

I have to admit, I must really be missing the boat on Oldboy, because I didn't enjoy much of anything about this movie.

I found it disconnected and violent to the point of absurdity (still wondering why we watched him pulling teeth). I got bored during the fight scenes where the main character showed off the skills he learned watching TV in captivity. The almost-ending monologue by the bad guy reminds me of how in The Incredibles and Kim Possible the villains always get caught up in a huge monologue and then the heroes take advantage of their distraction and foil the evil plot.

I was disappointed by the fact that the only real female character was completely useless. There's never really explanation for why she keeps hanging around with a violent crazy person and having no personality of her own, except "Oh, we hypnotized her, too." Her lines during sex are things like "It hurts so much, but I'll endure it for you" and "I want to make you feel good." Vomit.

I guess I'm just going to have to chalk it up to not getting some angle of this movie. Clearly, I am disagreeing with the majority. I recognize some elements that make a good story, and also some sharp technical skills. But it just felt like a hollow box.

Weeds is about as addictive as an actual drug.

Four years ago, I didn't watch TV. Today, I would consider myself a devoted watcher of probably 7 shows (though one of them is sadly off the air). How did this happen?

Because of shows like Weeds, that's how. Weeds is the blackest of black comedies, a comedy about a single mom who resorts to dealing pot to pay the bills after her husband's sudden death. Her family is hilariously dysfunctional, and so are her suburban So-Cal neighborhood and neighbors.

If you are a fan of shows like Arrested Development, The Office, and awkward comedies in general, you will love this show.

Coraline

Coraline is one of the scariest "kids' movies" that I've ever seen. That said, it was very cool, and hands down the best animation I have ever seen. There's not much analysis to be done - it's just a really cool movie. I can't believe Tim Burton isn't somewhere on credits.

If this movie was a month and a half earlier in its release, it would be really tough competition for WALL-E in the Best Animated Film category.

Top movies of 2008

I originally intended this to be a top 10 list, but attempts at compiling such a list proved just as frustrating as trying to rank my all-time favorite movies. How does one weigh, for example, the merits of Vicky Cristina Barcelona vs Iron Man vs The Reader. All were high quality productions which I enjoyed and would gladly watch again, but by what criteria do I judge them against each other? Also, I have not seen every movie released in 2008 (nor would I want to). Not only have I missed obvious titles such as Changeling or Rachel Getting Married, but titles very few have seen like Wendy and Lucy or Waltz with Bashir.

Perhaps it is too soon to throw together a best of '08 list? But consider that not only have Academy members already voted, but votes have already been tabulated and released in the form of the Oscar nominations. (Don't think good movies fall through the cracks?)

So, here's the plan. I'll briefly mention several 2008 movies I considered (in no particular order) and close with the five movies I would have voted for had I been an Academy member.

Iron Man - Definitely a tier above your standard action movie and if it hadn't been for The Dark Knight's release just a month later, more people would be talking about it. The final confrontation was a little weak, but a solid show.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall - What can I say? This was a really funny movie with interesting characters. Not your standard throw away comedy with no story.

Doubt - Loved seeing the behind the scenes world of the priests and nuns at a Catholic school. Four Oscar nominations for acting is not a fluke.

Burn After Reading - Even the people who said they didn't really care for this movie, laugh out loud when you remind them of some of the highlights. Brad Pitt and J.K. Simmons steal the show.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona - If it weren't for that damned voice over, this might have cracked my top five.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Enjoyed the ride, but can't forgive the weak final act.

In Bruges - Far from perfect but a lot to love here. Excited about its Oscar nom for screenplay, and happy for Colin Farrell's Golden Globe win.

The Wrestler - I watched the trailer 15 times. The movie was great, but the trailer actually moved me more. Springsteen not getting nominated for Best Original Song was one of the biggest Oscar snubs.

The Reader - I liked it, but nothing really surprised me here. It fills the roll of pretty good movie that boots better movies out of the Best Picture category (I'm talking to you Atonement and The Queen).

WALL*E - Brilliant. First 3/4 are absolutely revolutionary. Final quarter is solid, but drifts toward the more conventional. Don't be surprised to see it win for Best Original Screenplay.

I'm sure there are still others I forgot to mention, but moving on - here are my five "votes" for Best Picture of the Year:

5. Frost/Nixon - Frank Langella is amazing as Richard Nixon. This movie turned an interview with an ex-president into an epic battle for information. I could have watched these two battle it out for hours. Oscar moment - Nixon calls Frost in the middle of the night to rant about how "they" (the underprivileged), appreciate their success more and will rub it in the faces of the rich kids who stood in their way - a conversation Nixon has no memory of the next day.

4. The Visitor - If every film had the same resources to campaign during awards season, I think you would have seen in The Visitor nominated for far more than just its leading actor, Richard Jenkins. People are all too often, too selfish and too absorbed in their own lives to connect with strangers. Walter (Jenkins) takes that leap with Tarek, a Syrian living in NYC, and it changes his life. Think of this as a mellower version of American Beauty.

3. Slumdog Millionaire - This movie is an absolute blast. It is intense and dark at times, balanced by love and light. What started as the underdog movie out of India has avalanched into the absolute front runner for Best Picture. I only wish the characters had a little more polish to them. It's not my number one of the year, but there's no way to root against it.

2. Milk - The Scots had William Wallace, the Indians had Mahatma Gandhi, the gays had Harvey Milk. Seriously, this movie parallels Braveheart in more ways than you could imagine. I know we've seen movies where one man or woman battles against injustice to fight for what is right, but this is one of the best. Not only did Harvey Milk inspire thousands of oppressed people but his is a battle that is still being fought today.

1. The Dark Knight - Few question that this is the best superhero movie ever made. That in itself should make the Academy feel ashamed for leaving it out of the Best Picture race. The best fantasy movie won the top prize just five years ago (LotR - The Return of the King). They have rewarded horror (Silence of the Lambs), thriller (The Departed), western (Unforgiven), and comedy (Annie Hall), but not The Dark Knight. I read once that the Academy Awards honor those achievements that advance the art and science of film making. Yes, TDK was nominated for eight awards, but despite being THE BEST SUPERHERO MOVIE EVER MADE, it was left out of the Best Picture and Best Director races.
The Dark Knight is not only filled with memorable action sequences, it is filled with social commentary, and characters sincerely torn as to what is "right." And, of course, there's Heath Ledger's Joker who might be the best (or worst) movie villain ever (sorry, Darth Vader). But it's much more than that, Batman is the ultimate hero, willing to make the ultimate sacrifice - not dying for a cause, but living for it after all his supporters become his enemies.
I never thought about it until this moment, but the Batman that Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale have created is the Man described in Rudyard Kipling's "If" - "If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you..."