Reviews of the nominated movies for Best Motion Picture in the Oscar Academy Awards

For the fifth year in a row, I’ve been watching all five movies nominated in the Oscar Academy Awards Best Motion Picture of the Year category, to know if the winning actually was the best one.

This year, contrary to most others, all movies were actually good and deserved to be in this category! Much a relief for me, and much easier to get through them. 🙂

What I also liked is that it was mainly, to me, new actors starring in these movies, or at least actors who hadn’t have tremendous overexposure over the years. I have given the movies grades from 1 to 5, where 1 basically means it sucks, and 5 is very good.

The nominated movies

Let’s go through the movies, in the order I saw them:

Slumdog Millionaire
A picture of the movie poster for Slumdog Millionaire

This movie is about Jamal, a boy who grows up in the Mumbai slum, and eventually ends up on the “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”. It’s a wonderful story about him growing up, the tough reality in India, meeting good and thoroughly evil people on the way – and- it’s about true love.

It’s a very good movie, and it’s different to most other movies I’ve seen. In the beginning, some parts really had me clenching my teeth, wondering what dreadful thing were the next to happen. I would have to say that it did get just a little bit easier/nicer in the as the movie went along, but still exciting.

Definitely recommended.

Grade: 4-

 

The Reader
A picture of the movie poster for The Reader

Young boy meeting one woman one day, and evolving his first strong feelings of love. They have a very interesting relationship, and she’s quite reserved all the time. Recommended is that you don’t read more about the plot than the above sentence, and you will probably get the most out of it.

What I like about Kate Winslet, playing the woman, is her acting to begin with, but also that I find her really sexy. In these days of botox, plastic surgery, she’s so natural and just oozing sensuality.

It’s a good and interesting movie, and very touching at times.

Grade: 3+

 

Frost/Nixon
A picture of the movie poster for Frost/Nixon

Frost/Nixon revolves around the interviews David Frost did with former president Richard Nixon, after the Watergate scandal and Nixon’s resignation. Very interesting twists and turns, and I love the sense of that era one gets when watching it.

In the beginning, you get the feeling that the people behind this move genuinely hate Nixon, but gradually it goes to show that although what he done, he was just a human as well.

Grade: 3+

 

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
A picture of the movie poster for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Probably the most well-known movie amongst the broader public. The character Benjamin Button is born as an old man, and as time goes by, he becomes younger and younger. The effects and views on this is intriguing to see, although the movie has a number of parts that just doesn’t get your interest that much.

However, while I’m not such a sucker for romance in movies, when it comes to the topic of death and about children/being a parent, it reaches my most inner feelings. One part in the movie had me bawling like there was no tomorrow, and it really touched me.

A wise man told me that you don’t know if a movie was good just after you watched, you know it a few days, when you see if you go and think about it, if it affects your dreams and thoughts. While the movie overall perhaps isn’t worth a grade over 3, seeing how I was moved by the movie, I allowed it to get a 4.

Grade: 4-

 

Milk
A picture of the movie poster for Milk

This story is about Harvey Milk, who was the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California. This movie goes from him being uninterested in politics and being open about his homosexuality, to the bitter ending.

Sean Penn, as always, is absolutely fantastic! The movie itself is good too, but nothing more, nothing less. It does show a terrible history, though, with persecution of homosexual people and failure in trying to understand people with other values and norms than oneselfs’.

Grade: 3

 

And the winner is…

Given other awards and how different it is, my guess is that Slumdog Millionaire will take this one home. What I’m happy to say, though, is that any of these movies do deserve the prize, and contrary to previous years, no matter the winner, I won’t be upset.

Have you watched any of these movies, and if yes, what did you think?

 

Previous years’ movies

If interesting, take a read about the nominated movies the previous years:

Update

Slumdog Millionaire won a a fair victory in the category. Congratulations!

Sean Penn got a well-deserved Oscar for Best Actor (although I’m sure Mickey Rourke would have deserved it too), Kate Winslet finally got an Oscar for Best Actress. It is also note-worthy that Heath Ledger got an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

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