Posts Tagged ‘Slumdog Millionaire’

Let us not waste time by going over all ten nominees for Best Picture. In all seriousness, not each film has an equal chance of winning this coveted Oscar. In any given year one can usually narrow the competition down to about three, and the fact that the Academy has expanded the number of nominees to ten has not changed this. This year we have narrowed the number of truly possible winners down to two. Both are equally likely to win for reasons you can read below. Because of this adequation we refrained from picking a likely winner, but regardless of our indecision whichever film does win will most surely deserve to.

The Social Network

Directed by David Fincher

When the film was released in October it earned a lot of buzz for being the “frontrunner to win Best Picture.” That its director, leading actor, writer, cinematographer, and sound editors have been nominated for Academy Awards for their respective categories we can see there is palpable substantiation for such hype. Based on the book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich, the film boldly places a critical gaze upon what I shall reluctantly call the Facebook generation. The character of Mark Zuckerberg appears to create Facebook as an effort to produce cyber relationships and validate them by equating them with interpersonal ones, and in the process he destroys what real interpersonal relationships he has. In the end, Zuckerberg has all the power and influence he could want except for the kind that would allow him to rebuild meaningful relationships with the people who grew to hate him, who are the same people he most wishes to be close to. Such a story could potentially be successfully told in a variety of ways, but David Fincher’s patient and astute direction, the exceptional acting, and Jeff Cronenweth’s effectual cinematography, which often oscillates between delusive warmth and numb, cold sterility, make The Social Network a film that will be studied for years and watched for generations. It is not a film that will be swiftly forgotten.

The King’s Speech

Directed by Tom Hooper

The King’s Speech is the critical darling of the year. Released only two months ago on Christmas Eve its Oscar buzz didn’t have much time to gain momentum, however nearly every critic worth listening to has had it in his or her top five list of best films of the year. Its reputation soared quickly and has been able to stay high thanks in no small part to enthusiastic acclaim from audiences. Director Tom Hooper’s visual style for the film is admittedly not very impressive – that is, in comparison to the other nominees – but his management of the film’s performances by its actors, which include Oscar nominees Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter, certainly is. Hooper’s command of detail and judgment of timing is impeccable in areas outside of the actors’ performances, but such mastery obviously translates to that arena as well. Unlike The Social Network, this film is unquestionably more uplifting. Both are based on true stories, but while the former is about a young man falling victim to his own flaws the other is about a man overcoming them. Critics are sometimes called ineffectual, but just over the past several years we can see that the Academy voters’ consensus is usually in alignment with theirs. Best Picture winners Million Dollar Baby, Crash, Slumdog Millionaire, No Country for Old Men, and The Hurt Locker can all justifiably be labeled the “critical darlings” of their years, which should strongly encourage those pulling for The King’s Speech.

A R Rahman, winner of Best Original Song 2009 for "Jai Ho," from "Slumdog Millionaire"

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has released their list of all 63 songs eligible for nomination for the Best Original Song Oscar at the upcoming 82nd Academy Awards.

The voters will rate each song on a point basis, with an 8.25 rating needed for a song to be nominated. If no songs receive that high of a rating, the category is scrapped for the year. If only one song receives an 8.25 or higher, it and the runner up will be the only nominations. Up to 5 songs can become final nominees.

The list of all songs eligible for nomination are as follows:

“All Is Love” from Where the Wild Things Are
“Almost Over You” from My One and Only
“Almost There” from The Princess and the Frog
“AyAyAyAy” from The Maid
“Back to Tennessee” from Hannah Montana the Movie
“Being Bad” from Duplicity
“Blanco” from Fast & Furious
“Brothers in Arms” from Brothers at War
“Butterfly Fly Away” from Hannah Montana the Movie
“Cinema Italiano” from Nine
“Colorblind” from Invictus
“Depression Era” from That Evening Sun
“Don’t Walk Away” from Hannah Montana the Movie
“Dove of Peace” from Bruno
“Down in New Orleans” from The Princess and the Frog
“Fly Farm Blues” from It Might Get Loud
“Forget Me” from I Love You, Beth Cooper
“God Bless Us Everyone” from Disney’s A Christmas Carol
“Here” from Shrink
“Hideaway” from Where the Wild Things Are
“Hoedown Throwdown” from Hannah Montana the Movie
“I Bring What I Love” from Youssou N’Dour: I Bring What I Love
“I See You” from Avatar
“(I Want to) Come Home” from Everybody’s Fine
“If You’re Wondering” from The Lightkeepers
“Impossible Fantasy” from Adventures of Power
“Innocent Child” from Skin
“Invictus 9,000 Days” from Invictus
“Legendary” from Tyson
“Let Freedom Reign” from Skin
“Loin de Paname” from Paris 36
“Ma Belle Evangeline” from The Princess and the Frog
“My One and Only” from My One and Only
“Na Na” from Couples Retreat
“Never Knew I Needed” from The Princess and the Frog
“New Divide” from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
“New Jersey Nights” from Adventures of Power
“New York Is Where I Live” from Did You Hear about the Morgans?
“No Time for Love” from Simon & Malou
“One Day” from Post Grad
“Only You” from The Young Victoria
“Other Father Song” from Coraline
“Petey’s Song” from Fantastic Mr. Fox
“Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea” from Ponyo
“Possibility” from The Twilight Saga: New Moon
“Raining Sunshine” from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
“Running Out of Empty (Make Ourselves at Home)” from Lymelife
“Smoke without Fire” from An Education
“Somebody Else” from Crazy Heart
“Stu’s Song” from The Hangover
“Take It All” from Nine
“Through the Trees” from Jennifer’s Body
“Trust Me” from The Informant!
“Un Bouquet des Violettes” from New York, I Love You
“We Are the Children of the World” from The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
“We Love Violence” from The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
“The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from Crazy Heart
“When You Find Me” from Adam
“Winter” from Brothers
“The Word Is Love” from Oy Vey! My Son Is Gay!
“You Got Me Wrapped around Your Little Finger” from An Education
“You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home” from Hannah Montana the Movie
“You’ve Been a Friend to Me” from Old Dogs

Hannah Montana The Movie and The Princess and the Frog have the highest number of eligible songs. Official nominations for all categories will be released February 2nd.

Source: Hollywood Reporter