Saturday, December 27, 2008

This is going to be a very boring Oscar race...

Having just seen The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, I find myself asking a lot of questions--not about the film--but about the mindset of the voting bodies for different film awards. Well, one question in particular, which I will ask directly..."Have you seen any other David Fincher films? Had you even heard of David Fincher before this movie?" I have to ask, because I can only understand the awards buzz for this film if the answer is no. It's not a bad movie. But...damn, if it isn't underwhelming and oddly unsatisfying. Curious, really. Zodiac, Fight Club and Se7en were all in their own right more impressive films than The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and by a wide margin.

But back to my original point. It looks like the winner for best picture is down to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Slumdog Millionaire. I love Oscar season. But it's going to have a hard time maintaining interest. Because both of these films, I feel so very...meh about. The further away I get from Slumdog Millionaire, the worse the aftertaste is. I stand by my review. I gave it a B, saying it was a very good film, which it is. But best picture material, it is not. Maybe Milk will pull an upset. Or perhaps those rumors floating around about Wall-E getting a best picture nod will manifest themselves on those Oscar ballots. Either case is preferable to seeing what might be the least two interesting frontrunners in Oscar history duke it out for the top prize.

Peace, Love and Pretension

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