In which we learn that Button can only win in categories where it is not up against Slumdog. And I basically tell you who’s going to win Best Picture.
VISUAL EFFECTS
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Will Win: The Dark Knight
Should Win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Here is where getting dissed for the more prestigious nods (oh, and being the second-highest-grossing film of all time) is going to pay off for The Batman.
As for actual effects, I really think you can’t beat the face-matching and de-aging effects in Button. They take motion capture to the next level.
ANIMATED FEATURE
Bolt
Kung-Fu Panda
WALL•E
Will Win: WALL•E
Should Win: WALL•E
Yes, it’s all nice and weird that Kung-Fu Panda swept the Annies, but it didn’t win the BAFTA, Golden Globe, or BFCA, not to mention virtually every critics circle award for animated feature, and in some cases best picture.
Love Kung-Fu Panda. Didn’t see Bolt. But even the closing credits of WALL•E kick ass.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Duchess
Revolutionary Road
Will Win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Should Win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
It’s a dead heat between The Dark Knight and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. And the movie that’s won the most cinematography awards so far isn’t even in the running (Slumdog). So I’m going to go with Button simply because more often than not, the winner is at least nominated for Best Picture (if it is not, in fact, the winner).
As I’ve said, I thought Button was gorgeous. Truly stellar photography.
FILM EDITING
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
Will Win: Slumdog Millionaire
Should Win: Slumdog Millionaire
In many cases, the movie fated to win Best Picture takes this prize. Ooops. I probably should have said “spoiler alert.” Well, maybe if everyone else didn’t already think the same thing.
Slumdog relies on flawless editing to cut between characters at different ages and two very different types of interrogations without losing narrative flow or, more importantly, emotional flow. An unbelievable job by Chris Dickens, who’s already taken home an Eddie for his trouble.
SCREENPLAY – ADAPTED
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
Will Win: Slumdog Millionaire
Should Win: Slumdog Millionaire
Everybody loves the Simon Beaufoy adaptation of Vikas Swarup’s Q&A. 12 critics circle wins including a Golden Globe, BFCA and BAFTA win. The Writer’s Guild liked it, too.
I liked it, too. Although you’ll find my sympathies swaying towards Button a lot, in that case they really only took the kernel of the Scott Fitzgerald short story and practically made an original screenplay out of it. I think it’s more fair to judge what Beaufoy did (brilliantly) with his source material as a true achievement of adaptation.
SCREENPLAY – ORIGINAL
Frozen River
Happy-Go-Lucky
In Bruges
Milk
WALL•E
Will Win: Milk
Should Win: WALL•E
Writer’s Guild and at least a few critics circles have settled on Milk as the heir apparent. It’s a modest tally, but more than any of these other films have gathered.
I’m torn. Milk is a fantastic screenplay. Don’t get me wrong. And pulling off a successful bio-pic is no mean feat. But pulling off a kid’s film with a message and very little dialogue and have it not be preachy, condescending or boring is the challenge that would scare me more were I handed it.
In our next installment: Battle of the Reformed Bad Boy Actors
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