RISE AXELBLOG

In case, like most sane people, you didn’t watch the Golden Globes, here’s a little catchup on the winners in simple terms:

• Best Movie- Slumdog Millionaire
• Best Actor- Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
• Best Actress- Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road)
• Best Director- Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
• Best Screenplay- Slumdog Millionaire
• Best Original Score- Slumdog Millionaire
• Best Supporting Actor- Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)

So there it is.  The precursor to the Oscars has spoken and they LOVE Slumdog Millionaire.  4-4 on nominations won for the movie.  I truly think that if this doesn’t win the Oscar for best picture then the terrorists have won.

Controversies:

The only winners I found to be somewhat skewed were possibly Rourke for best actor.  Although he did a great job, I believe that Sean Penn’s Harvey Milk was simply out of this world.  Sean Penn has always been a favorite of mine and I think he did a better job than Rourke. 

The best supporting actor award, with all due respect, seemed to be padded for Ledger to win.  With the exception of Philip Seymour Hoffman, the nominees were a joke.  Tom Cruise and Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder…Really?  Is that a joke?  Ralph Fiennes for the Duchess, which I have never heard of until Sunday night.  This is ridiculous.  Hopefully the Academy Awards will come up with some better options for supporting actor.  Here are some of mine:

1. Josh Brolin (Milk)
2. Sam Rockwell (Frost/Nixon)
3. George Clooney (Burn After Reading)(Assuming John Malkovich is the lead)

I know that best director noms go hand in hand with best picture noms but can we get a little respect for two of the greatest directors of our time coming out with amazing movies this year?  The fact that Gus Van Sant and Darren Aronofsky did not get mentioned was simply appalling.  Everything was perfect about their movies.  I was not too impressed with Frost/Nixon but I understand the weight of Benjamin Button alone got it a nomination and I simply hadn’t heard of the reader until Sunday so I cannot give it a fair assessment.  But, if I had to go off of what I’ve seen, my Best director choices would be

• Aronofsky- The Wrestler
• Van Sant- Milk
• Clint Eastwood- Gran Torino
• Danny Boyle- Slumdog Millionaire
• David Fincher- Benjamin Button

(Boyle still should win though)

Last topic on this is the absence of Gran Torino from any of the top awards.  The only nomination it received was Best Original Score for that horrible song that plays through the credits, sung by Eastwood himself.  I would have accepted nominations for best Picture, Director, original screenplay or even actor.  Winning is another thing but to be snubbed for all of those nominations is ridiculous.

Stay tuned for Oscar nomination predictions coming soon.