mThe Oscar for Best Director for the best film ever made goes to Kirsty F... wait; I’m getting a little bit ahead of myself here, that’s not going to happen for a few more years. As most of you know I do dream of doing something within the media industry, whether it’s directing, writing or editing, these awards are for everyone, most of the crew within a film are looked at for their creativity, their passion and most importantly the final footage that comes together, came together because of their brilliance. These awards are called The Oscars and this year in my opinion they were very special.

The Oscars are integral part of the media industry, there is a season during January/February where all of the actors, actresses and everyone else in the media industry get dolled up and go to countless awards ceremonies, The Golden Globes and The BAFTA’s to name a few, however it all comes down to one night. All the awards ceremonies before this night are rehearsals almost to the biggest night in film history... The Oscars.

What Are The Oscars

Here is a short little explanation of what the Oscars are and why they are such a big thing within the film industry.

The Oscars or Academy Awards are annually presented by the AMPAS (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences), and they award some of the best people in the media world, from the best actress, actor to best cinematography in a film. The first ever Academy Awards was held in May 1929 in the middle of the Great Depression in America and was hosted by Douglas Fairbanks and William C. deMille.

Since then there have been 81 Academy Awards, the latest was at the start of 2009 and was held on February 22nd 2009 at the beautiful Kodak Theatre and the host was the equally beautiful Australian actor Hugh Jackman.

81st Academy Awards

2009 and the 81st Academy Awards in my opinion are very special this year, not only have they got a new host to host the awards who is great eye candy for us ladies, but the quality of the films is just out of this world. I don’t think there has been another year with so many contenders for the Best Picture award, and I think that anyone could win it. I think the last time that there were so many good films (according to some people) was 2005, where Crash and Brokeback Mountain were up for Best Picture.

The films this year are just amazing, towards the end of 2008 and the start of 2009 films began to come out of the wood work and shock us all with their stunning cinematography, brilliant acting and what makes a film brilliant in my eyes, the screenplay/script.

I tape the Oscar’s every year; well I have to really because I’m not insane enough to stay up on a school night, but every year I wake up the next day and find myself not being able to watch any channel or check my emails without finding out the main winners of the awards. I do still like watching the awards and with Sky + it’s brilliant as you can forward through the awful performances.

I sat down to watch the Oscar’s and dreamily stared at the screen when Hugh Jackman came on and began to sing and dance with the brilliant Anne Hathaway.

Here is where the main part of the review begins, the question I have to answer here is ‘How do I feel about this year’s winners?’, I’ll expand that question slightly because I believe that without every other person that was nominated the Oscar’s wouldn’t be what it is today, so I’ll be writing about how I feel about the winners of the 81st Academy Awards and if they deserved the award over their competitors within that race.

The Awards & The Winners

Here are my opinions on the winners and if I think they deserved the award or not.

==Best Picture==

Best Picture

I am a bit impartial here as I have not been able to go out and say if any of the other nominations should have won. Out of the 5 that were nominated for the Best Picture award I have only seen two of them, and these two were just amazing, two of the best films I have ever seen and two films that will still be talked about when I hopefully win my Oscar. I think that this year really showed how brilliant films can be and even though certain films may have an out of this world budget they may not be what the academy deems Award worthy.

The Nominations

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

And The Winner Is...

Slumdog Millionaire

Is the Award Deserved?

I don’t think a film has ever been more deserved of the best picture award than Slumdog Millionaire was. This film that nearly went straight to DVD, has followed its plot and gone from rags to riches and has stormed the world. I think this is one of the best films I have ever seen, I think it was beautifully done and considering that

it had such a small budget Danny Boyle and his team really did do something brilliant with this film.

Like I said before, I have only seen a small amount of these films, but I think from what I have heard that they are all must see films, and even thought it was pretty predictable that Slumdog Millionaire was going to win this award, the other’s still had a chance, there was many bets on the fact that Millionaire would win, however I think that The Curious Case, Milk, Frost/Nixon and The Reader could have took the award from them.

My opinion on Slumdog Millionaire winning this award is that it was well deserved, I think Danny Boyle directed a masterpiece and one that I will be buying as soon as it comes out on DVD.

Actor In A Leading Role

Even more so than the Best Picture Award I really am impartial here as I have only seen one of these films, so I can only say that I thought that Brad Pitt really did deserve the award, however I can’t really compare it to the likes of the Frank Langella or Sean Penn, as I haven’t seen those performances, however the Best Actor award is the one award within the whole ceremony that wasn’t written down on paper before hand, everyone knew that Mickey Rorke, Brad Pit and Sean Penn had a fighting chance of winning the award, but it was undecided who was going to win.

The Nominations

Brad Pitt (The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button)
Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon)
Sean Penn (Milk)
Richard Jenkins (The Visitor)
Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

And The Winner Is...

Sean Penn- Milk

Is the Award Deserved?

I have not seen Milk, but I have heard so many good things about Sean Penn within that role that yes, I do think the award is deserved and I think that he really is a brilliant actor and if this is the performance of his career then it really is going to be a magnificent role. I myself think that Brad Pitt’s role in Benjamin Button was seriously overlooked, I think mainly because this is a marmite type film, I think that 60% of the population adore the film and the rest hate it. This may have come across when giving Brad Pitt the award of Best Actor, because a lot of people didn’t like the film and then didn’t like his performance in the film.

I think from a lot of reviews I have read about The Wrestler, Mickey Rourke really played the role brilliantly well and this comeback king gave the performance of his life within this film. I think it would have been nice for him to win this award, however I have to laugh because a friend of mine said he bet some money on Rourke and Winslet winning best actress and best actor, he won for Kate Winslet but not for Rourke and he wasn’t too happy.

I do think that the award is very much deserved here, I think that Penn’s role must be magnificent, I may be editing this review when I finally get around to watching the film, however I think that to come up against so many good actors and win, he must have done brilliance here.

Actress In A Leading Role

I’m just going to kick out Angelina Jolie and Melissa Leo out of the occasion here, I have never heard of Leo and never heard of Frozen River before the Oscars and I can’t stand Angelina Jolie, I really think if she’s there when I of course win my Oscar and I win over her, I will point and laugh because even though she can act, she thinks she is the world. Anyhow, getting down to it, I think this was the award that was pretty much written in stone before the nominations came out, okay everyone was saying Winslet would win an award for Revolutionary Road and that film wasn’t even looked at, but every one knew she was going to win.

The Nominations

Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married)
Angelina Jolie (Changeling)
Melissa Leo (Frozen River)
Meryl Streep (Doubt)
Kate Winslet (The Reader)

And The Winner Is...

Kate Winslet

Is the Award Deserved?

Come on, Kate Winslet is a damn good actress, probably our best Actress and she’s always been the bridesmaid and never the bride and she finally produces two of probably the best roles of her career in the same year. It really was a shame that Revolutionary Road wasn’t put up for any nominations as from what I’ve heard it really is brilliant. I think Winslet really deserved the award and even though it was pretty much written in stone, she was up against some brilliant actresses, come on, who can say they beat Meryl Streep for best Actress, this woman is probably one of the best actresses of our time, she has had 15 career nominations and is just a fantastic actress and Winslet beat her to the post.

Anne Hathaway is still very young, and the potential that she has shown over the years has been very prominent and I don’t think anyone including her, ever thought that she would beat Streep and Winslet for best actress, but she looked like she was having the time of her life at those awards and she really looked in awe of the people around her. Winslet deserved the award this year, but I think we’ll be seeing Annie Hathaway win one years down the line.

Actor In A Supporting Role

I think this like Best Actress was also written in stone for this award, on January 22nd 2008, actor Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose, leaving behind him, one completed film and one half completed film. I think that anyone who says that the only reason Ledger was nominated for this award was because of his death, but come on, did they see the performance he gave within The Dark Knight? It was terrifying, psychotic and brilliant at the same time, I think even if he was still with us today, he would have still won the award

The Nominations

Josh Brolin (Milk)
Robert Downey Jnr (Tropic Thunder)
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt)
Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road)

And The Winner Is...

Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)

Is the Award Deserved?

I think that anyone who says that the only reason Ledger was nominated for this award was because of his death, but come on, did they see the performance he gave within The Dark Knight? It was terrifying, psychotic and brilliant at the same time, I think even if he was still with us today, he would have still won the award because he and Robert Downey Jnr who I think is a blummin talented actor were not on the same league at all, and I don’t think any of the others really held a torch to the performance that Heath Ledger gave.

I believe Ledger was only the second Posthumous Recognition winner, which means he is only the second person to win an award after he died, a bit controversy surrounded who was going to get the award as he was not married and his daughter was too young, however they have put it in procession of his daughter’s mother, and she’ll get it when she’s 18.I think the other’s were all brilliant performances however none really shone a torch to Ledger’s performance in The Dark Knight.

Actress In A Supporting Role

I think that the Actress in a Supporting Role was a waste of time, I think really only two people could win the award, that is Penelope Cruz and Marisa Tomei. I think you’ll all agree with me when an award is given out for supporting actress, it should be given to someone who takes the focus away from the lead actor. I have heard from countless people that Amy Adams, despite being good within Doubt, is the same as she’s always been. There is no range there and the role that Viola Davis plays in Doubt, was only a few minutes long and not really worthy of an Oscar nomination let alone a win.

Now we come onto the one that I have actually seen, that is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, to say that I was shocked that when I saw that there had been a nomination for a supporting actress from the film and it wasn’t Cate Blanchett, I actually had no idea who the hell Taraji P Henson was. Here are the nominations:

The Nominations

Amy Adams (Doubt)
Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Viola Davis (Doubt)
Taraji P Henson (The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button)
Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler)

And the Winner Is...

Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)

Is the Award Deserved?

Why the hell was Taraji P Henson nominated for this award over Cate Blanchett, this I can’t get my head around, because seriously, she was in the film for a little bit of time, I don’t think I even wrote about her in my review of Benjamin Button, she was overshadowed by Blanchett who really shined within this film and wasn’t’ even looked at for the award.

Back to the winner, I haven’t heard much about Vicky Cristina Barcelona, only the fact that it’s got the weird looking guy from No Country For Old Men in looking cute for an older guy. I think that Penelope is a good actress, I’m not sure if she deserved the award, I will have to wait to see the film, because I’m not wasting what is a ticket now £5.80 or something to see it at the cinema.

Overall I don’t think that any of the people that were nominated for best supporting actress were worthy of the nomination let alone the win. I think that it was a shame the lieks of Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway lost to Kate Winslet when in this category they would have been in a war of their own.

Best Director

The thing about these Oscar’s is that it was so publicised over here and in America because of the brilliance of the films that were nominated that every one really knew who was going to win Best Director. This is the award I hope to win and it really peeves me off that not many women get nominated for the best director award and hopefully I will be up against some of the greats. Here though it was obvious that Danny Boyle was going to flourish and become victorious.

The Nominations

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

And the Winner Is

Danny Boyle- Slumdog Millionaire

Is the Award Deserved?

Yes, I think that Slumdog Millionaire is a film that everyone should see, it is truly beautiful and brilliant and this was down to Danny’s direction and the cast he chose. I think that the likes of Ron Howard who is one of my favourite directors, could have won, as I hear that Frost/Nixon is brilliant, but it was Danny Boyle that shone, I knew as soon as I saw the film that it was one of the best Directed movies out there.

Music (song)

I thought I might as well include the music, when I wrote my review on this film I said the music adds a lot to it and here you have it, two songs have been nominated and they are brilliant songs. Jai Ho, which I have no idea what it means is my favourite and I think that it was played so much to advertise the film that it sticks in your head, a rightful winner.

The Nominations

Jai Ho- Slumdog Millionaire
Down On Earth- Wall E
O Saya- Slumdog Millionaire

And The Winner Is

Jai Ho- Slumdog Millionaire

Film Editing

I think personally, that the editing is the bit that is overlooked when it comes to film making, the Director and writer are probably the only two crew members that are talked about when it comes to films and I am the same, I usually ignore the film editors and the producers and things like that, but if you think of it like this, the writer is the one that comes up with the story, and writes it down on paper, the director gets the actors to perform and it’s his ideas along with the cinematographer that make the film look how it looks however it is the editor that makes the film how you see it, he puts the sounds with the footage, he/she is the final part of the film making process and probably one of the most important parts, I have always said if I don’t get to be a director, an editor would sound brilliant.

The Nominations

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire

And the Winner Is...

Slumdog Millionaire

Visual Effects

I think there was one very clear winner for this award, The Dark Knight had some great visual effects but come on, Benjamin Button was just amazing, I don’t think the Dark Knight and Iron Man had a chance when it came to this award, the way the visual effects team super imposed Brad Pitt’s face into the old man’s body and how they made Brad Pitt younger than he did in Thelma & Louise is just shocking and brilliant. A well deserved an award.

The Nominations

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Iron Man

And the winner is...

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

Final Opinion

For me these Oscars were the best ones I have seen yet, I think Hugh Jackman despite all the criticism he faced after the awards was not only charming, but he made the awards flow, I’m sure it is very hard for all of those people to sit on their asses for that long, come on, the awards were what 5 hours long, Angelina Jolie could have adopted another tribe of children in that time.

For me, the highlight of the film has to be the fact that us Brits did brilliantly well, it was Slumdog Millionaire and Danny Boyle that brought home the most amount of Oscar’s I believe out of the 10 they were nominated for they won 8 which is just amazing for a film that nearly was going to go straight to DVD. Our best actress, well one of them, finally became the bride; Kate Winslet won her rightful Best Actress Oscar, bringing one more for the Brits.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was nominated for a staggering 13 awards including Best Picture however disappointingly only came out with 3 awards which is a bit dismal if you think about it, I think that this film was amazing and deserved a lot more than 3 awards, I do think it is the film that has been overlooked at the Oscar’s but steeling a phrase from Jim Carey, That’s the way the cookie crumbles.

There was a beautiful performance from Queen Latifah preformed I’ll Be Seeing You as a tribute to all of those that we lost last year, Heath Ledger was not there as he died before last years awards, however the likes of Bernie Max, Sydney Pollack, Paul Newman, Anthony Minghella and Charlton Heston were all within the tribute.

Overall, How Do I Feel About This Year’s Oscar Winners?

I think pretty much that everyone that won an award actually deserved the award, the films that were nominated within these awards were out of this world quality and they are some of the best films of my time at least, I think everyone knew that the likes of Slumdog Millionaire and Kate Winslet were going to do well however the awards were not that predictable, I don’t think anyone really knew who was going to win Best Director or who was going to be Best Actor and it was lovely that Danny Boyle, who was before Slumdog Millionaire a seriously underrated Director. Sean Penn in my opinion is a seriously underrated actor and it was lovely that he was honoured for what I have heard is a brilliant role.

Role on Oscar’s 2010, I hope that they are going to be as good as this Oscars was and let’s hope the gorgeous Hugh Jackman hosts them again.

(C) Kirsty 2009

The last review like this that I did, ended up with some idiot accusing me of copying something he had apparently wrote. So here is to him, when I say that all of this work is my own, thank you to this website http://www.oscar.com/nominees/?pn=nominees where I got my list of nominees and winners from because it’s impossible to remember all of them. Everything but the names of the films and who won is completely my own opinion.