It's Oscar time

It's here! It's here! The Oscar's are tomorrow night. While I've been rudely absent, I am logging my final analysis here before the big night tomorrow night.

We did see the other two Best Picture nominees, Frost/Nixon and The Reader.

Frost/Nixon - I was a tween when this drama unfolded in our nation, yet I knew there was something historical going on in the world. I could tell by the way my parents watched intently, grumbled and growled, and expressed concern, that it was something important. I initially thought how can you make an entire movie about just a set of interviews? But, the screenplay was masterfully written, and the actors were absolutely amazing, especially Frank Langella as Nixon. It turned out to be an insightful and brilliant character study of Nixon. I loved the movie.

The Reader - I went to this movie with trepidation. I knew going in that this wasn't going to be an uplifting movie and had some reservations about seeing a movie where an older woman took advantage of a teenage boy. But once in the movie, I completely lost sight of that aspect. It was such a sad story with profound messages about illiteracy. There is a point in the movie where Hannah Schmitz would rather take sole responsibility to a crime of murdering 300 people (which she wasn't solely responsible for) than reveal that she was illiterate. Kate Winslet was brilliant. This woman had no redeeming qualities, yet Winslet made me feel deep emotions for her.

All in all - great movies this year!!! My pick for best picture is Slumdog Millionaire. My other picks:

Sean Penn - best actor for Milk
Kate Winslet - best actress for The Reader
Heath Ledger - best supporting actor for Dark Knight
Penelope Cruz - best supporting actress for a movie I have yet to see!

I think Slumdog will walk away with a lot of oscars, and I'm hopeful Benjamin Button doesn't!