F**K YOU ACADEMY AWARDS

Classy title, eh? Well, no more classy than the announced Academy Nominations today, which snubbed the Dark Knight for both Best Picture and Best Director. Had Heath Ledger not died tragically, they might not have been afforded an easy out by nominating his stunning performance as a conciliatory gesture to the best movie of the year, hands-down.Now, I haven't seen every since film that has come out, but I've certainly seen my share of the 2008 crowd. But who has? Film critics, generally speaking. So, let's just take a peek at the five nominations put against our boy Batman with the ratings from Rotten Tomatoes:

The Reader: 60%
Frost/Nixon: 91%
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: 72%
Slumdog Millionaire: 95%
Milk: 91%

and

The Dark Knight: 94% of 263 reviewsNow I know that "Best Picture" is not technically a popularity contest (don't tell that to Titanic), but doesn't it at least merit some consideration. I mean, if 4 out of every 10 critics didn't even like the film (yes, I'm looking at you, The Reader), how can it be considered in this category?I shouldn't be unfair, because The Reader is the only film I haven't seen yet on this list. (I promise that once I see it, I'll do an update.) However, I can be ruthlessly unfair to the others that I have seen. Both Frost/Nixon and Milk were good, serviceable, above par films. I don't think they don't deserve a nomination, but not at the expense of a superior film.The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is another case entirely. Clearly not a critical darling, I felt the film was very good, but I thought its nominations would be only in visual effects/makeup and maybe Brad would get a nod for Best Actor (he did). This isn't even close to Fincher's best film (Fight Club, duh), but I don't have any problem with the nomination. Unless of course you are comparing it to...Lastly, super-darling Slumdog Millionaire, which I really liked, and its spot is well-deserved. Probably the strongest of all the films on the list. Well acted, well directed, good story, emotionally moving. I highly recommend it.But keeping with the theme of being classy, Slumdog doesn't even deserve to shovel The Dark Knight's shit. For me, it was a stunningly directed film, a masterpiece screenplay, perfect-pitch performances, amazing action theatre, shocking and moving drama, and emotionally draining. In short, I was blown away. Blown away.

And it doesn't even rate as a nominee.

{Repeat blog entry title.}

I hated 'The Dark Knight'!

I speculated with MaggieMay a few weeks back that The Dark Knight might get a 100% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. It didn't take long for a dissenting opinion of the suspicious or socially questionable variety to appear, and of course it is from a small publication.We all knew SOMEONE was going to not like it... and his reasons are as follows (review in entirety):

Why do comic-book movies want to be serious literature? That’s the problem with this movie the same way it was with 2006’s "Superman Returns." Instead of being exciting pop-culture entertainment that forces the viewer to take it seriously, the movie takes itself too seriously – and misses the fun in the process. Well, almost – the late Heath Ledger seems to be having a great time as the tongue-flicking, homicidal Joker, played as a mad dog with a sense of humor. Whenever Ledger is on the screen, even when the script tries to slow him down, he barrels through with more gleeful evil than you can imagine.

Otherwise, this long (2-1/2 hours!!), overplotted movie never misses a chance to hammer home what a tortured hero Batman is. Bale plays him as though his boxers are too tight. And there’s far too much of straight-arrow District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) and not nearly enough of his transformation into the crazed Two-Face (one of the movie’s best visual effects). Though some of the action sequences will drop your jaw, there’s too much gab between chases and too many generic battles to keep the movie from grinding along instead of flying. A tip for the future: The best tragic heroes don’t spend the movie talking about their own tragedy.

Ah, longing for the days of the Batman TV show of the 60's! How very!

Unfortunately, this kind of review is highly suspicious. It is just a case of a hack reviewer trying to get free website hits by disliking a movie that is getting incredible reviews and buzz. I can just see him sitting at his computer, wracking his brain, trying to come up with some reason to pan the film. His solution is to go with the "I miss the camp" tactic combined with "it's too long!!!" whine.

That is what I hope is happening. For, if this isn't an obvious attempt of self-web-promotion, then I seriously pity this donkey for being trapped in the present. Of course, I have to remind myself, as I have done before, that not everyone 'gets' the same things. Especially when their brains hurts from trying to think.

Dark Knight: Jokerised

The new trailer for The Dark Knight was distributed last weekend, and prior to that there were select screenings. On some of those screenings, viewers were treated to a "Jokerised" version of the trailer, which turns out to be not as much hilarious as a work of genius. See below:

My favorite (aside from the light saber) is probably the opening, when he write "Jump!!" over the screen. This viral marketing campaign has really upped the ante in terms of whetting the appetite.

Dark Knight Trailer

Speaking of trailers, I have been remiss in posting or even mentioning the absolutely titillating, creepy, chilling trailer for the upcoming summer blockbuster, The Dark Knight.Watching the trailer itself only highlights what a tragedy it was to lose Heath Ledger, who might just have left an indelible mark on the series and created an icon worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as with Nicholson's portrayal.

The forthcoming new trailer is rumored to be focused on Harvey Dent rather than the Joker, mostly because the film is NOT Joker-centered as it may appear in the first trailer, but also because the film's producers do not want to remind folks more than they have to that their star is dead. (I remember reading this somewhere, but I may be mistaken. I hope that is the case.) Regardless, this is a film that was going to be a blockbuster no matter what, but now I believe it will be even more of a cult film and an unofficial cinematic wake for Ledger. You couldn't drag me away.

Bonus: Here's a crappy video of a six-minute bank heist from the film. I've seen it a few times; it's a wonderful Joker intro.

You are the... weakest link

Thanks to Katie Holmes' "scheduling conflict", we are getting rid of the only weak part of Batman Begins and replacing it with a huge upgrade:

[Maggie] Gyllenhaal is being tapped to play D.A. Rachel Dawes, the love interest to Bruce Wayne/Batman (Christian Bale). In the first movie, Dawes was played Katie Holmes, who, like Gyllenhaal, is repped by CAA. But reps for Holmes said she was unable to reprise her role because of scheduling conflicts.

This should be filed under worst decision ever by Holmes, and best luck ever by a budding franchise. Yee haw.

Reawakening a dead franchise

The first step was taken by hiring Memento director Christopher Nolan. Now the bigger task of filling the shoes appropriately has been done.

I can't think of anyone better suited to playing the dark, psychologically complex, intelligent and violent caper crusader than Christian Bale. This is the best news I've received in a while. Anyone who has a better idea for Bruce Wayne is free to indulge your insanity.