The Oscars - Chris' Official Ballot
Here's my Oscar Ballot for the 24 Categories. My picks are in RED BOLD UNDERLINED CAPS If it's a toss up, my second choice is in BOLD CAPS. Any film/performance I think you should check out is in Green(some are both Green and Bold). Any category I felt deserved an additional nomination is in BOLD BLUE. Oscars are this Sunday night, 8pm est.
CHRIS' OFFICIAL BALLOT
ACTOR, LEADING
Richard Jenkins in "The Visitor"
Frank Langella in "Frost/Nixon"
SEAN PENN in "Milk" (in character the entire film - high caliber performance)
Brad Pitt in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler"
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: Daniel Craig in "Defiance"
(Having had pneumonia myself, he gets my vote for Best Realistic Cough as well)
ACTOR, SUPPORTING
Josh Brolin in "Milk"
Robert Downey Jr. in "Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Doubt"
HEATH LEDGER in "The Dark Knight"
Michael Shannon in "Revolutionary Road"
ACTRESS, LEADING
Anne Hathaway in "Rachel Getting Married"
Angelina Jolie in "Changeling"
MELISSA LEO in "Frozen River (If Kate Winslet wasn't in the running, she'd get my vote)
Meryl Streep in "Doubt"
KATE WINSLET in "The Reader"
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: Kate Winslet in "Revolutionary Road"
ACTRESS, SUPPORTING
Amy Adams in "Doubt"
Penelope Cruz in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
VIOLA DAVIS in "Doubt"
Taraji P. Henson in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"Marisa Tomei in "The Wrestler"
ANIMATED FEATURE
"Bolt"
"Kung-Fu Panda"
"WALL-E"
ART DIRECTION
"CHANGELING"
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"The Dark Knight"
"THE DUCHESS"
"Revolutionary Road"
CINEMATOGRAPHY
"Changeling"
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"The Dark Knight"
"The Reader"
"SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE"
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: "Milk"
(Come on!! The scenes filmed looking into the mirrors, so you view the scenes as a reflection?? Amazing!!)
COSTUME DESIGN
"Australia"
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"THE DUCHESS"
"Milk"
"Revolutionary Road"
DIRECTING
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"Frost/Nixon"
"MILK"
"The Reader"
"SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE"
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
"The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)"
"Encounters at the End of the World"
"The Garden"
"MAN ON WIRE"
"Trouble the Water"
DOCUMENTARY SHORT
"The Conscience of Nhem En"
"The Final Inch"
"Smile Pinki"
"THE WITNESS - FROM THE BALCONY OF ROOM 306"
FILM EDITING
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"The Dark Knight"
"Frost/Nixon"
"Milk"
"SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE"
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
"The Baader Meinhof Complex"
"THE CLASS"
"Departures"
"Revanche"
"Waltz with Bashir"
MAKEUP
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"The Dark Knight"
"HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY"
ORIGINAL SCORE
"THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON"
"DEFIANCE"
"Milk"
"SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE"
"WALL-E"
(What makes this category so difficulty is that the scores for my ties both support their movie. I decided to go with "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" because of the imagery in the music. I felt it fully supported the actions on the screen. Not to mention, one of my all-time favorite scores is from Casanova, another Alexandre Desplat score. Though "Slumdog Millionaire" fit the setting of the film, I found it somewhat distracting from the movie at certain parts, but it did not take away from the overall best picture. "Defiance" was an amazing movie that I highly recommend. I actually did not notice the music at all during the film, even though I went to see the movie because of its nomination. I went back and listened to the score. It is so beautiful, and the reason I probably didn't notice it, was because it was supporting the emotions from the actors. It will come down to these 3 films, but I think "Benjamin Button" will take top)
ORIGINAL SONG
"Down to Earth" from "WALL-E"
"JAI HO" FROM SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE"
"O Saya" from "Slumdog Millionaire"
BEST PICTURE
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"Frost/Nixon"
"MILK"
(An almost true tie. Each got my vote for screenplay in their respective characters, but I think Slumdog
Millionaire has that extra sparkle in it - maybe it was the Bollywood number at the end)
"The Reader"
"SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE"
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: "The Wrestler"
(Not sure why "The Wrestler wasn't nominated.)
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: "Frozen River"
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: "In Bruges"
(The other two are long shots, but worth watching, especially "Frozen River")
SHORT FILM, ANIMATED
"La Maison en Petits Cubes"
"Lavatory - Lovestory"
"Oktapodi"
"PRESTO"
"This Way Up"
SHORT FILM, LIVE ACTION
"Auf der Strecke (On the Line)"
"Manon on the Asphalt"
"New Boy"
"The Pig"
"SPIELZEUGLAND (TOYLAND)"
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: Any of the "SNL Digital Shorts"
SOUND EDITING
"THE DARK KNIGHT"
"Iron Man"
"Slumdog Millionaire"
"WALL-E"
"Wanted"
SOUND MIXING
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"THE DARK KNIGHT"
"Slumdog Millionaire"
"WALL-E"
"Wanted"
VISUAL EFFECTS
"THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON"
"The Dark Knight"
"IRON MAN"
SCREENPLAY, ADAPTED
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"Doubt"
"Frost/Nixon"
"The Reader"
"SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE"
SCREENPLAY, ORIGINAL
"FROZEN RIVER" (almost a tie with "Milk")
"Happy-Go-Lucky"
"In Bruges" (worth seeing)
"MILK"
"WALL-E"
(There were lots of movies in this category I enjoyed as you can see. The stories were amazing!)
CHRIS' OFFICIAL BALLOT
ACTOR, LEADING
Richard Jenkins in "The Visitor"
Frank Langella in "Frost/Nixon"
SEAN PENN in "Milk" (in character the entire film - high caliber performance)
Brad Pitt in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler"
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: Daniel Craig in "Defiance"
(Having had pneumonia myself, he gets my vote for Best Realistic Cough as well)
ACTOR, SUPPORTING
Josh Brolin in "Milk"
Robert Downey Jr. in "Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Doubt"
HEATH LEDGER in "The Dark Knight"
Michael Shannon in "Revolutionary Road"
ACTRESS, LEADING
Anne Hathaway in "Rachel Getting Married"
Angelina Jolie in "Changeling"
MELISSA LEO in "Frozen River (If Kate Winslet wasn't in the running, she'd get my vote)
Meryl Streep in "Doubt"
KATE WINSLET in "The Reader"
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: Kate Winslet in "Revolutionary Road"
ACTRESS, SUPPORTING
Amy Adams in "Doubt"
Penelope Cruz in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
VIOLA DAVIS in "Doubt"
Taraji P. Henson in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"Marisa Tomei in "The Wrestler"
ANIMATED FEATURE
"Bolt"
"Kung-Fu Panda"
"WALL-E"
ART DIRECTION
"CHANGELING"
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"The Dark Knight"
"THE DUCHESS"
"Revolutionary Road"
CINEMATOGRAPHY
"Changeling"
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"The Dark Knight"
"The Reader"
"SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE"
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: "Milk"
(Come on!! The scenes filmed looking into the mirrors, so you view the scenes as a reflection?? Amazing!!)
COSTUME DESIGN
"Australia"
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"THE DUCHESS"
"Milk"
"Revolutionary Road"
DIRECTING
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"Frost/Nixon"
"MILK"
"The Reader"
"SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE"
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
"The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)"
"Encounters at the End of the World"
"The Garden"
"MAN ON WIRE"
"Trouble the Water"
DOCUMENTARY SHORT
"The Conscience of Nhem En"
"The Final Inch"
"Smile Pinki"
"THE WITNESS - FROM THE BALCONY OF ROOM 306"
FILM EDITING
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"The Dark Knight"
"Frost/Nixon"
"Milk"
"SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE"
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
"The Baader Meinhof Complex"
"THE CLASS"
"Departures"
"Revanche"
"Waltz with Bashir"
MAKEUP
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"The Dark Knight"
"HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY"
ORIGINAL SCORE
"THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON"
"DEFIANCE"
"Milk"
"SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE"
"WALL-E"
(What makes this category so difficulty is that the scores for my ties both support their movie. I decided to go with "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" because of the imagery in the music. I felt it fully supported the actions on the screen. Not to mention, one of my all-time favorite scores is from Casanova, another Alexandre Desplat score. Though "Slumdog Millionaire" fit the setting of the film, I found it somewhat distracting from the movie at certain parts, but it did not take away from the overall best picture. "Defiance" was an amazing movie that I highly recommend. I actually did not notice the music at all during the film, even though I went to see the movie because of its nomination. I went back and listened to the score. It is so beautiful, and the reason I probably didn't notice it, was because it was supporting the emotions from the actors. It will come down to these 3 films, but I think "Benjamin Button" will take top)
ORIGINAL SONG
"Down to Earth" from "WALL-E"
"JAI HO" FROM SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE"
"O Saya" from "Slumdog Millionaire"
BEST PICTURE
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"Frost/Nixon"
"MILK"
(An almost true tie. Each got my vote for screenplay in their respective characters, but I think Slumdog
Millionaire has that extra sparkle in it - maybe it was the Bollywood number at the end)
"The Reader"
"SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE"
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: "The Wrestler"
(Not sure why "The Wrestler wasn't nominated.)
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: "Frozen River"
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: "In Bruges"
(The other two are long shots, but worth watching, especially "Frozen River")
SHORT FILM, ANIMATED
"La Maison en Petits Cubes"
"Lavatory - Lovestory"
"Oktapodi"
"PRESTO"
"This Way Up"
SHORT FILM, LIVE ACTION
"Auf der Strecke (On the Line)"
"Manon on the Asphalt"
"New Boy"
"The Pig"
"SPIELZEUGLAND (TOYLAND)"
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: Any of the "SNL Digital Shorts"
SOUND EDITING
"THE DARK KNIGHT"
"Iron Man"
"Slumdog Millionaire"
"WALL-E"
"Wanted"
SOUND MIXING
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"THE DARK KNIGHT"
"Slumdog Millionaire"
"WALL-E"
"Wanted"
VISUAL EFFECTS
"THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON"
"The Dark Knight"
"IRON MAN"
SCREENPLAY, ADAPTED
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"Doubt"
"Frost/Nixon"
"The Reader"
"SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE"
SCREENPLAY, ORIGINAL
"FROZEN RIVER" (almost a tie with "Milk")
"Happy-Go-Lucky"
"In Bruges" (worth seeing)
"MILK"
"WALL-E"
(There were lots of movies in this category I enjoyed as you can see. The stories were amazing!)
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