Oscar speaks

I'm back, with a New Year's resolution to blog more often (not doing too well so far, though) on this exciting day for movie geeks everywhere - Acadamy Award nomination day.

The complete list can be found here.

A few thoughts about this year's chosen pack:

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button now holds the honour of having received the third-highest number of Oscar nominations in history, behind Titanic and All About Eve. And it couldn't have happened to a nicer film. Benjamin Button currently sits as my favourite film of 2008, a sweeping, romantic, ambitious, thoughtful picture that pushes forward what's possible in this artistic medium. The seamless computer graphics and special effects help tell a lovely story that it's hard not to enjoy.
• Despite doing quite well at the Golden Globes, Revolutionary Road didn't get nearly the love it was expected to.
• Slumdog Millionaire is this year's Little Miss Sunshine, and I would argue it's probably Benjamin Button's toughest competition for Best Picture - but I don't think it'll get it.
• Kudos to the Academy for recognizing the strikingly funny and surprisingly moving In Bruges for Best Original Screenplay - this anti-PC little Irish movie is really quite fantastic, and carries an unexpected amount of weight.
• Nearly the entire cast of Doubt received a nomination, yet the director gets shut out?
• Wall-E scores 6 nominations, and is probably the best example of why the Academy shouldn't have a separate Best Animated Feature category, as it would've surely been in the running for Best Picture otherwise.
• The Dark Knight doesn't get a Best Picture nomination despite rampant speculation that it would, but it's a lock in two categories: the late Heath Ledger for Best Supporting Actor and Wally Pfister for Best Cinematography (not only was it a beautiful movie to look at, but it was the first feature film to shoot with IMAX cameras.

I'm sure more musings will come later, but for now mark Feb 22 on your calendar to find out who takes home the prizes.