Because overall...

I am?

Suck it

I'm happy with In Bruges and Frozen River getting screenplay noms.

I'm still not happy about Wall-E getting Screenplay noms, but I can't have everything, right?

Generally, yes. I mean, I would obviously be much happier if TDK got nominated.

But I think a lot of the acting nominations have gone to good people and good actors.

I am. Without Songs, stupid Slumdog is in no better shape than Milk which makes me happy.

The only thing that makes me mad is no Sally Hawkins. Anything else I would have liked really didn't seem possible anyway, so I can't get mad at what I'd been expecting.

I'll take this funny Reader controversy over TDK any day.

no. Two incredible movies that could've broken down some big Oscar barriers both missed out in favor of two of the most conventional Oscar bait ever (The Reader, Frost/Nixon). I'm happy Ben Button and Milk did well, and am fine with Slumdog's success I guess, but overall, this should have gone much better.

No. My dislike for Ben Button (Ben Lyons has something to do with this, im sure ) has grown even more now and it's just sad that Rev Road went to unnoticed this whole year. Shame, shame, shame.

Slumdog is less conventional than The Dark Knight is to be quite honest.

Slumdog is about the most conventional thing possible. Despite its exotic setting, Hinglish, amauteur acting, and random slo-mo, it's as A.B.C. as they come.

No. The supporting categories are fine, but the fact that The Dark Knight didn't get in over The Reader really disgusts me. And not to mention Revolutionary Road being essentially shut out aside from the (wonderful) surprise Michael Shannon nomination. It's so depressing that it went unnoticed this year.

Slumdog honestly reminds me of something Disney would have produced circa 1996 with brown frogs or some shit.

But you could make the same arguments about The Dark Knight on a different scale. How it's just Heat or a mobster movie with a slight twist.

Otherwise the cast is extremely high pedigree, it's polished and expensive. If it didn't have a guy in a rubber suit in it it would be 100% conventional.

It's never been a great example of the "comic film genre" because it's so outside the norms on that level. Iron Man is much closer to a comic book film at heart.

That's my take at least.

Well, I am a bit shocked with some of the nominations, but I don't take them personally at all. I like to see surprizes, it brings more variety in the results, and especially the responses from easily offended fanboys.

Yeah, I love that scene in Mulan where Mulan has her eyeballs fucking burned out.

Kidding aside, I hear what you're saying and kind of agree.

no....

The Reader getting in not only over Dark Knight but other far more worthy films just goes to show the Academy is still stuck in its own fucked up universe.

Really glad for Frost/Nixon - especially considering all the experts hearing saying it wouldn't get picture. (Mostly before they saw it?)

So nothing for Clint? Boo.


and on Doubt. Don't really understand how a movie can get all the acting awards, 3, plus the screenplay award and that equals nothing for the picture or director???

There wasn't a lot to choose from this year to be quite honest.

I'm not saying The Dark Knight is 100% conventional. I agree with your assessment. I'm playing Devil's Advocate. I'm just saying that perspective is needed.

If you step back to 2008 this month and say, "This fairy-tale-ish film, released in mid-October, directed by Danny Boyle with no stars, a large cast of non-Americans, set in India and mostly non-English will be nominated for Best Picture and most likely to win against the huge Hollywood films with 13 nominations", you would be looked at as the odd man out.

To be honest, there were people banging the drum for The Dark Knight all the way back to it's trailer release. This is not a sudden thing.

So the case I'm trying to make is that from that vantage, The Dark Knight was much more of an expected player than Slumdog ever was up until almost its release.

That saying Slumdog Millionaire is not "conventional" Oscar-faire when compared to something like Frost/Nixon or The Reader is absurd.

Anyone else think 13 noms for a movie is a little excessive?