Slam Dawg and Probe Nixon
I usually have an inner aversion to movies that have Best Picture Oscar nominations. This started around 1996 when the Academy chose to acknowledge snore-inducing bore-fests like The English Patient and Fargo. This was when 1996 also provided classics and infinitely-more-watchable movies such as Independence Day, A Time to Kill, The Rock, The Ghost and the Darkness, Trainspotting, among others were shown.
I have seen both The English Patient and Fargo. They were hmm.. okay.., even passable on some odd standards. But they are nowhere near where and what critically acclaimed movies should be. It is mind-boggling, even now, to think that at that time, these movies were the best for that year.
Sometimes though, they get it right when movies like The Departed and The Return of the King wins Best Picture, but more often than not, I just can't trust the judgement of these old people. Science-fiction, action movies, and comedies rarely get any attention.
This year though, I have seen three out of the five Best Picture hopefuls: Frost/Nixon, Slumdog Millionaire, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The Benjamin Button movie had an interesting plot but was boring as expected. However, Slumdog and Frost/Nixon was better in every way than I expected. Slumdog Millionaire was masterfully done. Everyone has been talking about its wonderful story telling and characterization, but another aspect of the film jumped out to me - the soundtrack. Not the kind of soundtrack that you'll go and buy in the store because of the new songs but rather how the sounds were used to enhance the feeling and emotional awareness of the movie. Slumdog Millionaire is like a newly delivered Meat Lover's Pizza - it's fresh and it seems to have everything.
Frost/Nixon follows in the same mold as The Last Castle (and even Death Note) wherein two strong personalities try to outmatch each other. I have had only a little background with regard to the details of the Watergate Scandal but it didn't seem to matter when I watched this movie. It really was about two men and the people behind them preparing for what was an eventuality that would define their entire lives. The acting was superb and I really feel that Frank Langella at least has an edge over Brad Pitt on this category.
Although I haven't seen Milk and The Reader, I woudln't be surprised if either Slumdog or Frost/Nixon takes home either Best Picture or Best Director award. But if Benjamin Button somehow gets any of either award, then the "Academy" has just proven that even after all these years my aversion to them has real reason and merit, and would not have been baseless. Let's just hope my gut feeling is wrong and either one of the two films gets the Best Picture and Best Director award.
