That's a wrap people!

The quote the 1969 song by The Dells, oh what a night. Once I got over my bitter disappointment at The Dark Knight being shunned in both the best picture and best director categories, I made a list of all my dream Oscar winners (see post titled `Looking in to my crystal ball’). Well, pretty much my entire dream list came true and I couldn’t be happier. Despite Gus Van Sant missing out for best director, everything else turned out peachy. Particularly Penelope Cruz’s win and beautiful speech, Sean Penn’s well deserved win, Dustin Lance Black’s amazingly memorable speech and of course, Heath’s posthumous victory. I thought Hugh did a great job of hosting but the best moment of the night (by far) was when James Franco and Seth Rogen presented the award for Best Live Action Short. When Franco read out the winner's name he couldn't say it properly and totally made up the pronunciation of Spielzeugland while Rogen's baboonish laugh could be heard in the background. Comedy gold, you can't script that shiz.
Here’s a complete list of the winners:

Best Motion Picture
WINNER: "Slumdog Millionaire"
Performance By An Actor In A Leading Role
WINNER: Sean Penn in "Milk"
Performance By An Actress In A Leading Role
WINNER: Kate Winslet in "The Reader"
Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role
WINNER: Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight"
Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role
WINNER: Penélope Cruz in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Achievement In Directing
WINNER: Danny Boyle for "Slumdog Millionaire
Adapted Screenplay
WINNER: "Slumdog Millionaire," by Simon Beaufoy
Original Screenplay
WINNER: "Milk," by Dustin Lance Black
Achievement In Music Written For Motion Pictures (Original Song)
WINNER: "Jai Ho" from "Slumdog Millionaire" Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar
Achievement In Music Written For Motion Pictures (Original Score)
WINNER: "Slumdog Millionaire," A.R. Rahman
Achievement In Cinematography
WINNER: "Slumdog Millionaire"
Achievement In Film Editing
WINNER: "Slumdog Millionaire," Chris Dickens
Achievement In Costume Design
WINNER: "The Duchess"
Achievement In Art Direction
WINNER: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Best Animated Feature Film
WINNER: "WALL-E"
Best Animated Short Film
WINNER: "La Maison en Petits Cubes"
Best Live Action Short Film
WINNER: "Spielzeugland (Toyland)"
Best Documentary Feature
WINNER: "Man on Wire"
Best Documentary Short Subject
WINNER: "Smile Pinki"
Best Foreign Language Film
WINNER: "Departures" - Japan
Achievement In Visual Effects
WINNER: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Achievement In Makeup
WINNER: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Greg Cannom
Achievement In Sound Editing
WINNER: "The Dark Knight"
Achievement In Sound Mixing
WINNER: "Slumdog Millionaire"

Also, if you get a chance check out this fabuloush piece put together by the team at Empire Magazine on the biggest Oscar snubs. A worthy read.

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. . .but you can have the rest of my Milk.

Gus Van Sant's new film Milk is one of the top two films I wanted to see most in 2009. The trailer was epic and gave me all sorts of goosebumps. Watching Margaret and David's review of Milk in December as part of their summer special only fueled my intense desire to see this film with Margy giving it 4 and a half stars and Davy giving it (for the first time in my memory) a perfect five star review. I was finally able to catch an advanced screening of it last night and I was not disappointed. This is the kind of movie film students are going to study in years to come and definitely one of Gus Van Sant's best films which is saying a lot. Undoubtedly he is one of the best film makers of our time with creations such as; My Own Private Idaho, Good Will Hunting,Finding Forrester and Elephant (to name a few). But Milk is something else. A true story, Milk is based on California's first openly gay elected official, Harvey Milk, a San Francisco supervisor who was assassinated along with Mayor George Moscone. Sant seamlessly merges archive footage with acted scenes to the point where you're sometimes uncertain whether you're watching the actors or the real-life characters home movies, a newspaper clipping or tv news archive. Sant and his casting director have also done a brilliant job at not only rounding up a superb ensemble cast, but the actors bare an unbelievable resemblance to the real-life movers and shakers. The performances are nothing short of AMAZING especially for supporting cast members Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch and James Franco particularly who is beyond convincing as Harvey Milk's long time lover. You cannot, however, get past the brilliance that is SEAN PENN. He is in my number one favourite actor of all time and even I was blown away by this performance. SEAN PENN IS HARVEY MILK. I honesty thought nothing could beat Penn's performances in Mystic River and Dead Man Walking. I was wrong. wrong, wrong and Penn delivers his most subtle, heart-wrenching and memorable portrayal to date. He trumps Mickey Rourke in best performance by an actor in a leading role and Milk trumps Slumdog Millionaire for best major motion picture. Gus Van Sant trumps Danny Boyle for best director. Openly gay himself, to Sant's credit the bet thing he does is restrain any notion of over production. Although he has obviously and painstakingly crafted this film in a very intricate fashion, one of its biggest assets is Sant's lets the amazing true-story and incredible performances appear to do the work while his inventive and inconceivably creative camera techniques subtly add to the calibre that makes Milk a masterpiece in its own right. If I could have my way I'd give Milk every Oscar I could pry from the Academy's steel grip but frankly, whether it wins or loses in the coming weeks is irrelevant. Milk is and will always be an important film with a universal message of hope.

Milk opens in cinemas this Thursday, January 29.

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Margaret and David Summer Special

Most of you would be aware I’m a big fan of At The Movies with Margaret and David on ABC. As all loyal fans of said show would know, at the end of every year before they go on a two month sabbatical Margie and Davey (as I like to call them) put together a summer special which includes reviews and interviews regarding all the up and coming summer releases. I haven’t seen the point in doing a wrap up of their latest summer special because majority of the films weren’t being released for a few more weeks. However, now most of them are currently screening at the movies or about to in the next few weeks so here’s a quick run on the results of the Margaret and David Summer Special. In the one hour show the super-duper duo reviewed a total of 10 films and their worth according to stars is listed below.

Milk

Margaret: * * * * 1/2

David: * * * * *

Twilight

Margaret: * * * *

David: * * * 1/2

Madagascar 2: Escape To Africa

Margaret: * * *

David: * * * *

The Wrestler

Margaret: * * * * *

David: * * * * 1/2

The Class

Margaret: * * * *

David: * * * * 1/2

Frost/Nixon

Margaret: * * * * 1/2

David: * * * *

Igor

Margaret: * * *

David: * * * 1/2

Revolutionary Road

Margaret: * * * *

David: * * * *

Slumdog Millionare

Margaret: * * * * 1/2

David: * * * * 1/2

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Margaret: * * *

David: * * *

Looks like it’s going to be an interesting summer. No doubt Slumdog Millionare and The Class are worth a look given their high ratings but . . . . WHOA! Both Margie and Davey dished out a 5 star out of 5 star rating each! That’s awesome! As you can see Margie was over the moon with The Wrestler and gave it 100%. The last time I can remember her giving a movie 5 stars is back in 2005 for Terrence Malick’s The New World (my ultimate favourite movie). Not to be out done, Davey also dished out 5 stars to Gus Van Sant’s latest Milk. The last time I can remember him giving a movie 5 stars is . . . well, never. I seriously can’t remember him ever giving a movie 5 stars. I’m sure he has and my dramatic statement is incorrect, however, personally I have never seen an episode where he has dished out the 100% score. Needless to say I’m desperate to catch both The Wrestler and Milk now they have achieved a rare 5 star review. A notable mention should also go to the two animated films on the list with Davey giving kudos to Madagascar 2 for making him laugh out loud several times. He also applauded the poorly advertised Igor which he said was an interesting twist on the monster genre and Frankenstein movies. You can download a vodcast of the At The Movies with Margaret and David Summer Special from their website here.
Enjoy.

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Got milk?

Hot damn, I wish I did! And no, I don’t mean the kind that comes out of a cows teat. I’m talking about the new film from super-awesome Gus Van Sant titled Milk which is getting all sorts of praise for great acting and superb direction. A true story, Milk is based on California's first openly gay elected official, Harvey Milk, a San Francisco supervisor who was assassinated along with Mayor George Moscone. Not only is this directed by one of my top six favourite directors (Sant) it stars one of my favourite actors (Sean Penn) in the title role. Penn is backed up by a superb supporting cast with Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch and James Franco in another strong career move. I’ve seen the trailer no less than six times at the movies and it blows my mind every view. The link below will take you to said trailer of brilliance -
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WW0lQrWn5VI
I’d heard a little bit about this story thanks to the copious amount of gay friends I have and the movie looks absolutely brilliant from the 2 minutes and 35 seconds I’ve seen. From those who have seen Milk they’re tipping it to take out all five major categories at the coming Oscars including; best picture, best director, best actor in a lead role, best supporting actor and best original screenplay. Win or loose I’m pumped to see this asap. Milk is released January 2009 in Australia, probably at selected cinemas so keep your eyes peeled.

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