Unofficial Academy Awards Discussion Board

danfrank

Gomorra (Matteo Garrone, 2008) 9/10

Wow, just got back from this. A raw, honest, riveting, and devastating film. I'll probably have to see this a few times to fully appreciate it.

danfrank

Let me see if I have this right: it's absolutely clear that Lincoln should only be portrayed by a tall (but not too strapping) bisexual octoroon with sunken cheeks. If evidence surfaces that he was intersexed, we'll have to add that to the mix as well.

danfrank

Frozen River (Courtney Hunt, 2008) 5/10

Not a bad little movie but nothing memorable save for Leo's performance. I really don't get the screenplay nomination.

danfrank

The Wrestler (Darren Aronofsky, 2008) 3/10

A facile grotesquerie. Mickey Rourke's performance is compelling enough, but he shouldn't be mentioned in the same breath with Sean Penn. I suppose that means he'll win.

danfrank

The Edge of Heaven (Fatih Akin, 2007) 8/10

The plot's a bit convoluted, but there are many beautiful moments in this film. Ultimately quite poignant.

danfrank

Pineapple Express 4/10

I watched this only because I heard good things about James Franco's performance, and he didn't disappoint. He's way funnier in this than RDJ is in Tropic Thunder. It's a duuuuumb movie, but it gets a few points for making me laugh several times.

danfrank

It's a hunch, but I say Viola Davis wins. I think the trying-to-maintain-her-dignity-while-snot-runs-down-her-nose thing clinches it for her. Seriously, I thought she was terrific. Like Eric, I don't get why Henson was even nominated. Nothing wrong with the performance, but I didn't see anything in...

danfrank

Blah...are we really that prudish and superior that we judge someone out of context like this? For me there's no context--short of something truly life or death--where that kind of behavior is acceptable. I agree. His anger may have been justified by the DP's behavior, and a quick blow-up may have ...

danfrank

--Eric wrote:Best Supporting Actor
Haaz Sleiman, The Visitor (OK, I'm voting with my flipp on that one)

I second that emotion.

danfrank

Brolin, Downey, Jr., Ledger, and Shannon all give fairly exceptional performances I can't agree that there was anything exceptional--other than the blackface--about Robert Downey, Jr.'s performance in Tropic Thunder. It was mildly amusing at first, but then it just grates like the movie itself. I g...

danfrank

I briefly knew Marlee Matlin's brother Marc when I lived in Chicago. Very nice guy.

danfrank

Flight of the Red Balloon (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 2007) 8/10 My rating may go up with further viewings; there's a lot going on here. Loved the use of glass and light. Happy-Go-Lucky (Mike Leigh, 2008) 8/10 I didn't expect to like this so much. Great character study. Mamma Mia (Phyllida Lloyd, 2008) 2/10 ...

danfrank

Good, I was hoping you'd say you liked it for its humanness. I liked it for that, too, as well as its sense of intimacy and its humor. And you're right, I think that Jimmy Stewart has rarely been better, and that's saying a lot.

danfrank

The Shop Around the Corner (Ernst Lubitsch, 1940) 8/10 Very charming; why can't they make romantic comedies this well anymore? Nicely directed, good cast, made me laugh. This is one of the greats. One of the absolute best films I've ever seen. I don't know a lot about Lubitsch other than he was obv...

danfrank

The Shop Around the Corner (Ernst Lubitsch, 1940) 8/10 Very charming; why can't they make romantic comedies this well anymore? Nicely directed, good cast, made me laugh. Elmer Gantry (Richard Brooks, 1960) 6/10 Wins points for (sort of) questioning religion back in 1960; Burt Lancaster seems over-t...

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