The fact that they did not nominate Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino) Or Leonardo DiCaprio (Revolutionary Road) is surprising. I'v seen the movie the Visitor, and the acting is not Jenkins best, or even one of this years best. I'm not bringing this film down because its unknown, it wasn't my favourite.

They totally ignored The Dark Knight, what were they thinking? The Dark Knight goes onto my # 1 of the year. Slumdog winning was a very agreeable win.

Another thing is that Kate Winslet won for the Reader? Jolie had one of the most powerful performances by a female, Kate Winslet is a great actress and best actress to her should have been for Revolutionary Road.

Best Visual Effects for Benjamin Button? That makes me laugh, you have two other very visually strong movies (Iron Man, The Dark Knight) and not one of them beat Benjamin Button?

People will still be watching Grand Torino long after people forget this years Acadamy Awards best movie winner.Power to the people.

I believe that the Academy f'd up this year in the category of, not only best picture, but also best original screenplay, and best song... Ah, what the hell!:} THEY F'D UP EVERYWHERE!!!

The Academy failed to recognize Bruce Springsteen's song for the brilliant film The Wrestler. Okay, that's only for starters...

Then, they decided to take all the Golden Globe nominees, and trim some ere, take a little off there, and TA-DAH!! The Academy Award Nominees--oh, wait... THE SAME NOMINEES FOR THE GOLDEN GLOBES, minus Tom Cruise in the best supporting actor slot, and minus a couple others, plus another slot for best adapted screenplay... Oh, and Wall-e. Am i missing something here? Did the academy fail to recognize Synecdoche, NY? Did the fail to recognize JCVD (even though i cannot see it in any slot!)? Did the Academy fail to recognize Burn After Reading, which seemed to get acclaim by the Brits at the BAFTAS?--also Brad Pitt for his role in that film... and last but not least, did the Academy fail to recognize Che, as a whole six hour epic? I say YES YES YES!!!

This is just Hollywood's way of saying "Fuck off, we have this in the bag!" Its childish, and the thing that bothers me the most is that 3-D is making its way through the barriers of Hollywood films. If I were a filmmaker (which I am), this shit would be the most embarrassing to ever happen to the film industry since Ben Affleck decided to add the title "Academy Award Winner" to his name. Keep in mind, Ben, you NEED Matt! But don't get me wrong, I loved Ben in Hollywoodland, and was stunned to see him not even get a nomination for the only film he was great in in a hell of a long time!

Also, WTF is this shit with Wall-e in a best screenplay slot? Oh, yeah, i forgot about the FILLERS!!! There were plenty of smart films out there (like Synecdoche, NY), BUT NO!!! The academy had to add the even more annoying Wall-e to their list! Its like a film that, not only kids will enjoy, but also love-less adults will enjoy as well, as they sit in their bed, and sob all night over why their "hubby" in high school left them in the first place, when all they seem to care about are their stuft animals lying on their bed, and their Jane Austin "re-run" novels and sappy romance novels by some hack writer over and over and over again!

I have to hand it to the Academy: every year, they manage to screw up! The only year they didn't was when Martin Scorsese won for The Departed--FINALLY!!... oh, wait! They did screw up, when Jennifer Hudson won for playing herself--MAINLY--in that little film... But lets not forget that they manage to have a hit and miss thing going on because they totally missed There Will Be Blood, when it was obviously the winner for Best Director and Best Screenplay, but No Country won instead... Okay. I'll give them that, at least it wasn't a total loss.

Lets just hope that they don't screw up this year. lets just hope that Heath wins. Lets just hope that, above all, Christopher Nolan stops there, and doesn't make another Batman film (even though he kind of has to, from where Dark Knight left off...), and let's just hope that THE RIGHT WINNERS grab their Oscars, give their speeches, and that Next Year is a team of even smarter choices! Because this has to be the only year that the academy has given up, and has disappointed...

mayank, learn to spell right, it's hard taking you seriously.

The Academy made history! Brad Pitt is the fisrt actor ever to be nominated for being a stand in and do nothing. To bad the Oscars is only a TV show and not a serious attemp to award the best of the best

The Dark Knight was no way near deserving of a best picture nod. The movie was good, but it left no major impression aside form Ledger's kooky joker.

I loved Benjamin Button, and think it deserves all 13 of it's nominations. Heck, it should get one more for Blanchet as actress!

I agreee that Kate Winslet was nominated for the wrong picture, but both (actaully ALL. Ever) of her performaces are oscar worthy.

I agree with you that "Eastwood gave a signature performance" but I think thats why I'm okay with him not getting an oscar nod for it. It probably didn't command a lot of effort for him to embody that character.
WALL-E should definitely have gotten a best picture nomination, but lets face it. Family movies are never going to get that kind of recognition, just because they are family movies. Somebody should change this.
I was also very surprised that Springsteen's song was not nominated either. None of the songs that got nominated deserved it.
Benjamin Button getting 13 nominations? it was good, but not that good, and definitely not better than Slumdog millionaire or Milk.
I have to say that the other award show i'm looking forward to is THE GRAMMYS.

I'm glad The Dark Knight didn't get a best pic nom (though I sort of thought Nolan deserved a best director nod [paradoxical? Maybe]) It was a good pic, but definitely not better than a whole lot of other movies. Hell, I thought Iron Man was better.

The Reader getting all these noms sucks, though.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman got shafted this year as well. Hoffman, who always gives brilliant turns, got put in the supporting category for his role in Doubt. The role is a lead if i've ever seen one, but he gets put in the category in which not even Brando coming back from the dead could beat Heath ledger as the Joker

They can say that Gran Torino wasn't Politically correct and that's why it barely received any mention.That makes no sense because if you watch the film we can a man who is just a product of his times but who clearly is not a racist.

I am boycotting the Oscars for this reason and I encourage others to do so.His performance was gritty and real and the movie had a very profound message.

I didn't see them all, but the best movie I saw all year was "War, Inc." A must-see. Rent it pronto.

Has "wtf" become a respectable term?

If I was the Academy, the best picture race would look like this:
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E
- The Curious case of Benjamin Button was OK, but I couldn't help but feel it was an excuse for Brad Pitt to do something artsy just in time for awards season. I haven't seen The Reader yet, but I know that it's not good enough to beat Wall-E and The Dark Knight in noms. If the Academy is so eager to honor Kate Winslet, they should nominate her far-less typical career move in Revolutionary Road.
- The Dark Knight is not perfect, but it is one of the biggest and important movie-movies of the last decade. the Academy should gratify Chris Nolan and the cast and crew for successfully making a blockbuster that has smart dialogue, smart motives, smart casting, and the brains to be culturally relevant- while at the same time blowing stuff up.
- Wall-E didn't get completely snubbed, it did get nominated for the screenplay, which in my opinion is a major category. But it is a much bigger film than that and should be recognized in more categories than the standard animation one.
- The academy Awards should recognize any and all movies no matter the genre or the release date. This was the year that finally made me lose all hope in the Academy. At this point,the MTV movie awards are better judges of the year in cinema than the crusty, over-dramatic and over-bloated Academy.
Travers, you might be the only critic with any brains anymore, you should start your own annual Awards ceremony for people who actually know what going to the movies is all about.
peace

Peter--Gervais's character doesn't tell Winslet to do a Holocaust film; in fact his character would never do such a thing. It is her idea and hers alone, which is the beauty of the scene, not to mention the episode. Gervais's character is shocked at her point of view. You should watch it, and btw it isn't close to the best 'Extras' episode. You should watch those too. Genius.

Benicio deserved a nomination for che!!!!!

Another favorite performance of mine was Streep's in Doubt. Those classic words will forever haunt me: "When you take a step to address wrongdoing, you are taking a step away from God, but in his service."

Oh come on. Clint's got a tired repertoire: if he's not a retired vet, a cowboy, or a government agent, he's a badass. In this case, a racist badass. when he plays a Nazi then we'll have a performance worth talking about.

The Dark Knight wasn't the greatest movie, but it was excellently plotted - almost too excellently, like Diablo Cody was ghostwriting the script. It should have got the nomination. Heath's death just jinxed it really, because people hyped it up so often we got disheveled.

It isn't ghetto to give Animated film it's due distinction from live-action, by the way.

Doubt was definitely snuffed of its best picture nomination. Maybe they should of thrown in some Nazis; that's what almost always scores an Oscar... That or a hot chick getting her nude debut on screen.

I'm glad that Heath Ledger was nominated and will certainly win, but, unfortunately, he won't win for his performance. Until the Academy announced the noms, I assumed that Robert Downey Jr. would win for Tropic Thunder. Because he gives the most original performance in ages, something even Heath Ledger didn't do (I love his performance, but he's channeling Malcolm McDowell in "Clockwork Orange"), I thought he had a good chance, especially considering "Iron Man" brought him back to the spotlight. Also, it's hard to win an Oscar when you can't campaign for yourself (Peter Finch did win for "Network", but he had a heart attack while promoting his nomination.) Hell, James Dean was nominated TWICE after he died, and still didn't win.

However, because the Academy snubbed "Dark Knight" in the major categories, the biggest award that average movie goers think about is an acting award. Ledger will win, but it won't be for that great performance. It's also a shame that people will think the movie was the Heath Ledger show and not one of the best movies of the year for reasons other than a tragic death.

david, why not?

Oscar darling Clint Eastwood playing a bad ass, what a stretch.

Stephanie, sorry for you loss of leo di on the Oscars, he is should be at a point in his life where he should realize on thing, he's a hack actor, no matter what imitable histrionics he attempt to pull off.

Unfortunately, I live in an area where the only movies that get shown are the ones the theater chain knows they'll make money on. So I haven't seen any of the Best Picture nominees. Having said that, I lost a lot of interest in the AMPAS when movies like "The English Patient" and "Shakespeare in Love" were winning Best Picture. It's seemed to me that the Academy likes to pat itself on the shoulder by nominating the movies they feel make them look like they actually have the insight to recognize and appreciate "art" (from their perspective) over the motivation to make money. Every once in a while, a movie that people actually saw (and enjoyed) will enjoy it's day in the sun with multiple nominations, but it doesn't look like this is going to be one of those years. I was disappointed that TDK didn't get a Best Picture nod because, in my opinion, it proved that "comic book" movies can be well-written/acted/produced pieces of art. Just not suitable enough for the AMPAS' tastes... or at least not what they want us to think those tastes are.

Curious Case of Benjamin Button? Frost/Nixon? Milk? The Reader? Slumdog Millionaire? Any of these as Best Picture? Not a chance. Its a shame that The Dark Knight was not nominated. And I know why. The Academy did not want to have to give a Best Picture Oscar to a "Summer Blockbuster". As if those movies are somehow inferior to other movies. There was only one other movie in 2008 that was possibly better than The Dark Knight and that was Wall-E. And the Academy snubbed that one as well. I have'nt been this shocked at the Academy's decisions since they gave the Best Picture Oscar to Shakespeare in Love rather than Saving Private Ryan. Im not sure about the rest of you, but this is the straw that breaks the camel's back for me. No longer will I have any respect for the Academy.
Moving on.... Mickey Rourke will win Best Actor. Period. No other actor even came close. And why did they even nominate 4 other actors for Best Supporting Actor? Is there even a shred of chance that Heath Ledger will not win? If he does not win, then the Academy should be disbanded.
Thank you and good night.

When the nominees came out, I felt as if it was a practical joke and I was thinking "ha ha, you guys are hilarious, now give me the real contenders." Obviously, it never happened. What is up with taking "The Reader" and "Benjamin Button" over "The Dark Knight" and "Doubt." Knight was a truly epic crime story that cut the superhero genre into deeper territory, that's saying something. I would've liked to see a director nod for Nolan and an adapted screenplay nod as well. "Doubt" was a movie that exceeded all my expectations, though may not be a choice some people would put as best picture, it's certainly better than the highly overrated "Benjamin Button." I mean c'mon, 13 nominations? So dumb. I give it credit for any effects or makeup nominations, and even credit to David Fincher, who I think did great with the look and attempting to fight the script. But i SHOULD NOT be nominated for best picture, best actor or adapted screenplay. I can't believe Brad Pitt is nominated over Clint Eastwood's hard-edged performance in "Gran Torino." Academy, you can officially suck it!

13 nominations for Ben Button? It was entertaining, but not that great. Leo deserved a nod, but the Clint Eastwood snub was predictable (for me, at least). "The Dark Knight" should've been nominated for Best Pic, it was a great film, but I guess the Academy doesn't care for comic book based movies.

No, Adrian Brody did not deserve to win over Daniel Day-Lewis. Despite some of the awful decisions, you cannot get too angry considering they nominated Downey Jr. for "Tropic Thunder" and Richard Jenkins for "The Visitor." "The Reader" is a prime example of a typical movie the academy always recognizes when it should have nominated "The Dark Knight." Rarely has a movie been both a critical AND commercial success. The last time that happened was "The Lord of the Rings," and "Titanic." Both won though.

leo has been ignored again and again and again. .
what a shame to the academy. .

Here are my grievances:

1. Why did Leonardo DiCaprio not get a nom for "Revolutionary Road"? WTF - blasphemous. I just watched it and was completely shaken watching his and Kate's gritty performances.

2. Why was Kate nominated for her role in "The Reader" instead of "Revolutionary Road"? Maybe it's just me, but I felt her RR role was a bit stronger. In any case, if she doesn't win this year, I'm going to shit myself. Just about everything she does is brilliant. And if Anne Hathaway - bless her heart, love her - but if she wins for Rachel Getting Married (aka the most painfully dreadful movie I've ever watched... ever), I might lose my mind.

3. Batman, really? We're upset that TDK didn't get nominated for Best Picture? Entertaining? Yes. Took the Batman movies up a notch? Totally. Oscar material for best picture?? C'mon... let's get serious.

4. Didn't see Gran Torino, but I believe you guys.

5. Eh, I thought Ben Button was entertaining, and sweet, but 13 noms? Really? There was something fluffy and bloated about it to me... kinda like empty calories. A tad lacking in substance. Loved Queenie though.

Peoples choice awards are more accurate these days, F*** the Oscars.

Well, though I was mis-informed when I was originally glancing at the nominees, I am happy that Josh Brolin was nominated. Very happy. I'll take that kind of egg to the face anytime...
...And then promptly blast it straight back into the faces of the original song voters for dereliction of duty. Obviously, they want to protect against their favorites getting even a sniff of competition (after the Eminem "Lose Yourself" victory incident, they'll not allow the vote to be decided by the greater Academy if they can possibly help it ever again.)They ought to be literally bound to offering FIVE songs for overall vote. To submit only three is transparent and disgraceful.

Couldn't agree more! For years, the Academy Awards (and many other of the awards, but that rant is best saved for another time) have snubbed flicks truly deserving of nominations. Milk was fantastic, and though I haven't seen Slumdog Millionare, from what people tell me about it, it probably deserves its nominations as well. However the lack of non-technical nominations for The Dark Knight is both terrible, and unsurprising. The movie was an incredible cinematic masterpiece. Heath Ledger's nomination is well-deserved (though unfortunately, while I think he should get the award regardless, we'll never know if it's a sympathy-vote or not). Unfortunately, the Academy seems to be far too above movies of that nature to give it the credit it deserves. I haven't seen Gran Torino, so I can't really argue in its favor, but I can argue for The Boss, and his incredibly moving song. He was nominated, and won for writing "Streets of Philadelphia", a fantastic song for a fantastic movie, but was denied the Academy's approval for writing The Wrestler, which is an even better song! At this point I'm just reiterating what Peter Travers has said, so I'll end this by saying that year after year, I get more and more disenchanted with the Academy Awards and its "holier-than-thou" method of nomination. Peter Travers, you couldn't have described my opinions better if you tried. Though, I have to say, Roberto Benigni's win was well-deserved!

Clint Eastwood has been completely shafted and though many of the movies in the best picture category were great they fail to push any boundaries. Gran Torino deserved a nod for best picture and definitely for best actor. The Academy loves a nicely gift wrapped movie, Slumdog Millionaire great with its picture perfect ending kid gets girl and rich, very cute. I figured the academy wouldnt give Eastwood a nod due to its racist main character, a character who wasn't spoon fed to the American public. Clint had more substance in the first 5 minutes of Gran Torino than Brad Pitt had through the entire (overly long) Ben Button. Though Slumdog Millionaire was great it was no Gran Torino. The only reason it is not on the bill is because it was not politically correct. Let's face it people, the academy is full of twats

I would rather watch Gran Torino a hundred times than bother with another simpy Brad Pitt movie. What a shame that Clint Eastwood got completely ignored.

Dan the lunatic who believes a ridiculously overrated pound of CGI junk is nearly great, what a sacrilige.

Sorry but I can't understand the hype about The Dark Knight, Slumdog Millionare and Benjamin Button. They are pretty forgettable pictures, maybe entertaining but with little serious substance.

When on the other hand The Visitor, Elegy (no noms, pity) and The Reader are not just well crafted, but have messages and stir after thinking. These are the three/four main story elements of The Reader: Holocaust is one of them, not particularly good when compared to some other films, 2) the boy growing up and 3) the boy reading to the woman and the woman learning to read. All have some to say (eg. shame of illiteracy over fear of imprisonment).

What can we think about over Batman now? The dilemma with passengers? What else?

I would've like to have seen one of the other Milk men, Hirsch/Franco, instead of Shannon, who was great in Rev. Road, I just took a liking more to Milk.

Ok, and Brad Pitt deserves his nod. Actresses have put on a lot of make up or prosthetics over the years (i'm looking at you Nicole Kidman, and I thought Meryl was better in that movie than she was), and they win Oscars, so the fact that Pitt had me emotionally engaged in this movie, the man deserves to be in this category! And enough with Clint, I love the guy, didn't think Gran Torino was all that great, and neither did the Academy, it was shut out completely.

Adrian Brody did deserve his Oscar for The Pianist.

Last quibble, Bruce should've been nominated for best song, and The Wrestler maybe should've taken The Reader's Categories, just maybe..

Slumdog and The Wrestler are two of the most original stories put on film in a long time. Can't believe The Boss' song got ignored. As far as poor Sally Hawkins goes - people want Brangelina at the Oscars, so Sally gets left out for Angie.

Also, where was the James Franco love? I've yet to see "Milk" (I know, I'm really slacking this year), but he was completely believable and hilarious in "Pinapple Express".

Just returned from seeing "Gran Torino". It is my favorite Clint Eastwood movie of all time. I can't believe it didn't receive a single nomination. Clint's performance - flawless; Clint's directing - brilliant.

For all the The Dark Knight nay sayers, it has more merit than just the Joker alone. Hence, the prestigious nod for cinematography, as did Batman Begins.

On a side note Dan is an idiot for saying Crash was worse than lord of the rings 3. What a mediocre comment Danny boy. Even thought we agree on The Dark Knight, you remain an imbecile.

I liked that Slumdog Millionaire got some love (if it wins best picture, i'll be happy), it def. is one of the years best pics. But Dark Knight and WALL-E both deserved very much to be there! Here are two movies that BOTH the audiences and critics LOVED. For goodness sake Dark Knight is the second highest grossing pic EVER, that must say something about the film. Whether you hated it or loved it, it got people excited again about epic movies. And WALL-E is a masterpiece! COME on, they didn't even speak for 45 minutes and it was AMAZING. Benjamin Button wasn't excellent, it was good but not great. It's VERY well made, i'll give it that. But Brad Pitt nominated for BEST actor????! wtf? he was average at best, shit, wall-e was better than him. And also the sup. actress nom for Button was SO unnecessary, where was Rose Marie Dewitt for Rachel Getting Married??? This was THE year to make the oscars EPIC again, the way they felt when Titanic was nominated, EVERYONE saw and loved the movie. FAIL. oscars... FAIL.

To say that The Dark Knight is nothing more than a fun summer blockbuster is like saying that Schindler's List is a comedy. I'm convinced that some people were watching a different film. I wouldn't be really disappointed if it failed to win the category, but it surely should have at least grabbed a Best Picture nomination. Christopher Nolan has been snubbed for several years now; he deserved directing Oscars for Memento and The Prestige. I'm not sure he really deserved one for Dark Knight, but at least a nomination would've been great.

I'm happy that Slumdog is getting recognized, though. That was an incredible project, and I'm very proud of Danny Boyle (especially since he left the Psycho Killer out of this one). I'm still trying to get in to see Frost/Nixon, then I'll have seen all of the Best Pictures. I didn't hate Benjamin Button nor did I hate Milk, but neither of them were nearly as good as Slumdog Millionaire or The Dark Knight in my opinion.

The Academy made some big mistakes this year. Not incredibly big (like failing to nominate Ledger), but they left out several productions that were important to me in place of some that I thought were mediocre. Hopefully when they announce the winners they'll make better decisions.

The Reader was AMAZING!!! It has always been my choice for best picture. I've seen Ben Button, Slumdog, TDK, Doubt, Rev Road, Frost/Nixon and more. Enjoyed all of them except Button which was weak and inconsistent. And yet, I still put The Reader out in front.

As for the whole Kate Winslet situation - I think her nom is for both films like others have mentioned. Her performance in each film was amazing. If the Academy didn't have that "no double nominations in same category" rule and it was possible for her to get two best actress nods she would have. But I think, and for good reason, the Academy thought a Nazi prison guard was more of a deviance from most female character roles than let's say a disillusioned housewife. They want her to win.

totaly agree , where is Bruce springstein nomination

Who cares if The Dark Knight was a blockbuster. It was the fact that it was a summer blockbuster which happened to have a sinister and menacing tinge on it rather than a hyped cgi fest of movie is what made it so fascinating and captivating to watch for a comic book movie to come out and actually no be gimmicky in any way (minus Bat's voice).

Lord of the Rings won oscars and that was a movie with a huuge budget. If it were people voted by real movie goers rather than academy members it would have been obvious who would have came out on top at the oscars. A man with pointy ears and cape, that's who.

What is the criteria used to determine nominations for Best Director? Does the Academy judge a director by the overall quality of his film?

I can easily side with Peter Travis about the nominations (although I don't particularly care for Clint Eastwood).

The Reader over The Dark Knight, in my opinion was done as a nod to Frank and Sydney Pollack. If there was a sympathy post humus oscar vote, it'd be The Reader. Unlike The Dark Knight where Heath Ledger deserves the award even if he were still alive today.

I won't call it a complete loss for Dark Knight though, as Wally Pfister might finally get his oscar for his 3rd nomination now, that and the Producer Guild Awards are tonight.

However, as one who is a fan of Danny Boyle, and about to see Slumdog Millionare tonight, being in the film industry right now, this is the favored one to win. HOWEVER, if there was a sleeper movie this season to beat it out, I guarantee that it will be MILK.

Moulin Rouge broke the oscar barrier so that Chicago would win. (Granted Moulin Rouge in my opinion was more deserving then Chicago).
Brokeback Mountain has broken the barrier for Milk to win.

The difference with Milk is that it actually means something to a much larger extent with it's civil rights message that is so pertinent to current times right now. That like Crash, Milk is the one film that might upset everyone. And I'm positive that Milk will upset at least one if not all of the following categories: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, & and Best Screenplay. One of those 4 will get an upset with Milk prevailing. My best guess will be Danny Boyle for Slumdog and Milk for Picture.

As for technical awards, why the hell The Fall & Australia didn't get more, is a bit beyond me. Curious Case will be like Gangs of New York, nominated for everything, will go home with nothing. And Sadly if Kate Winslet does finally WIN, she's winning for the wrong role. At least Wall-E and Heath Ledger are 2 wins that people can count on if they put money in.

Button and The Reader should definitly be replaced by Wall-E and The Dark Knight, although the batman wasn't the best movie of the year, it was much better than Bejamin Button. And Bruce's song was by far the best song(in the movies) of the year, so to not even be nominated is pretty bad for the academy. And Chris nolan should get the best director nom.

Also on a side note Davis is an idiot for saying Lord of The Rings was the worst best picture winner ever, because Crash was a whole lot worse of a winner. Also I know you probably just called it Lord of The Rings 3 because you didn't feel like spelling it out, but its a little insulting to the movie and the books considering its the third part, not a sequal.

It pains me that neither WALL-E, nor The Dark Knight were nominated for best picture.

First let me say I am thrilled for Richard Jenkins getting the nomination for "The Visitor". I am also very happy to see "Slumdog Millionare" and "Milk" and "Frost Nixon" get their due. But For best film how could they leave out "The Visitor?" It is a great film and sends an important message about the goverment's wrongful treatment of illegal immigrants. For best Foriegn Language film no recognition for "Let the Right One In"? Are you kidding me!? "Let the Right One In" deserves so much more recognition than what it has gotten, Lina Leenerson (who plays vampire girl Eli in the film) desrves a best actress nomination as does the boy (who's name I can't remember) who plays Oskar. The film also deserves a nomination for best director and best adapted screenplay. For the best supporing actor category Josh Brolin who plays San Fransisco supppervisor Dan White in "Milk", deserves that oscar! I'm not saying that Heath Ledger was't great in "The Dark Knight", I'm saying that Josh Brolin brought humanity and emotion to the role of the conflicted suppervisor. Also if the academy is trying to recognize comedy by nominating Robert Downey Jr. then why isn't Jon Malcovich in this category for "Burn After Reading"? For best supporting actress why aren't Rosanne Dewitt and Debra Winger from "Rachel Getting Married" here? "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is stealing credit from all the good and more desrving films. To quote Charles Heston "Damn you, Damn you all to hell!"

I myself enjoyed The Reader more than The Dark Knight or Slumdog Millionare. It's an emotional and very well done and acted film. It's obviously not just about Holocaust. It's a great coming-of-age drama also. But it is strange, true, that Kate Winslet was nominated for this film and FOR best actress, since the part is supporting; the main and title character is the boy (played by David Cross and Ralph Fiennes). So I too think five thousand or so voters will also consider her in Revolutionary Rd. when voting for her.

Am I the only person in the world who thought Slumdog was mediocre? Also, the Dark Knight was not as good as Batman Begins, so no nominations is fine. Heath dying WAS the best career move he ever made. Does not deserve to win.
I was hoping for Frank Langella to win best actor, but now I hope for Mickey Rourke. Either one will thrill me.

For the record, Adrien Brody MORE than deserved his Oscar over all the other performances. The scene where he gets caught by the Nazi trying to open a jar of food is as good as any acting I've seen. I remember it and I haven't even watched the film since it came out in theatres. Of course, you forgot the most ridiculous Academy choice in the past decade, which was Crash beating Brokeback Mountain. Proof that LA really is full of self-hating racists.

ANYHEW, I think, other than that, Mr. Travers is right as usual. What crack addict overlooked the film Che? (certainly in the Actor and Screenplay categories, at LEAST). Though I

I think that button was a great film, and if there is anything that i know this was a Fincher masterpiece! the same guy that did fight club, seven, zodiac, come on! This movie should walk away with best director and actor! The academy as lost its touch if this film does not win either of those.

The worst best picture winner is lord of the rings 3. The Dark Knight was robbed for Best Director (I would be hoping too for a Best Picture nod).

It seems to be a rather flat year for the Academy. Not that there weren't any good movies, but there were no great movies. Nothing different, unusual, shocking, etc. Button was gimmicky, but a nice little film. Loved Slumdog as it was an unusual look at a lifestyle. A few good choices, but a lot of not so good choices in each category. Some of the best choices were left out.

But then what do I expect from an industry that a few years ago didn't give the movie 300 a nod at all, not even for its amazing musical score. It was the most creative movie that had come along in years. And as its being shown on TV a lot now it's popularity has grown remarkably, and it has taken on a cult statis.

Last year I truly hated two of the movies that were nominated. Sigh

Well, maybe next year I'll be able to get a little more excited about the awards. Let's hope so.

This year I won't be watching...or caring. Sally Hawkins and Kristin Scott Thomas have given two of the finest examples of screen acting in the past few years and yet they miss out on a nom in favour of d-grade Streep and yet another vanity-fuelled Jolie scream-fest. Pu-lease! And whilst I may be the one lone voice in the wilderness; dying was really the best career move Heath Ledger ever made. TDK was a muddled mess of a movie completely hamstrung by Christan Bale's ridiculous accent and Maggie Gyllenhall's vacant persona. Ledger was pure ham - much needed ham - but ham nevertheless. Praying that Michael Shannon wins for RR. What can a dead man do with a statue? Get real.

For my money, the best picture of the year was The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

First of all I think Heath Ledger will win for best supporting actor. That is one of the best performances ever put on film IMO and it will be hard for people to overlook that. At least they got it right in nominating him. Why DK is not up for best picture and Chris Nolan for best director is beyond me. A real masterpiece that moved and inspiried myself and everyone I know who has seen it. Just because it's a Summer Blockbuster it doesn't get considered for best picture or best director?? What a bunch of fucking retards

Actually, Kate Winslet was nominated for Revolutionary Road, not The Reader.
Look it up.

the snub for the dark knight pissed me off too man, the dark knight is by far the best movie released this year, no better action, no better acting (except when christian bale was lowers his voice for batman, that was kinda lame), the way thew whole movie pans is what earns it the best pictyure in my mind, not the fact that the movie made an assload of money. the only thing shows is that the summer blockbusters can also be great movies,it just does not happen very often

i'm amazed and glad that robert downey jr. got the supporting actor nod. given what happened to heath ledger, i don't think the academy will give it to him - but i think he truly deserves it. he was brilliant.

It's all Bush's fault.

yeah the oscars were a bit off but not nominating the dark knight wasn't a huge oversight. there were plenty of good movies that should or could have been nominated in "the readers" place but the dark knight, while a great movie, probably wasn't one of them.

the song debacle is definetely bad though, and so was dissing sally hawkins, clint eastwood and benicio del toro. overlooking wall-e wasn't too bad since they have a category for animated pictures so they get their due in a way.

In Bruges a wonderful dark comedy with exceptional performances from Brendon Gleeson,Ralph Fiennes and Colin Farrel should have been nominated for Best picture. Benjamin button is totally overated although it is an ok film.

I actually applaud the Academy for not giving into the hype and nominating "The Dark Knight" for Best Picture. The movie was as shallow of a summer blockbuster as "Transformers" was last year. Unfortunately, they did nominate Heath Ledger. Giving the Oscar's proclivity to award people past their prime or dead for roles that doesn't deserve the award. That would make Heath a favorite to win over more deserving actors.

As for the other movies, I haven't seen them yet. I have to agree that 2008 lacked the quality future classic movies of the previous years. It did produce a couple of under-the-radar cult gems. Here's hoping that "Be Kind Rewind" and "Repo! The Genetic Opera" would find it's audience on DVD and cable like the way "Office Space" did about ten years ago.

no clint? no leo? no boss? whatthefuck?

Well, i still haven`t seen all of the Oscar nominees, but what i can say about "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button`s 13 nominations" is that even if it`s not the best movie of the year, at least finally Fincher got the attention he really should`ve gotten back in 1995.

Winslet should`ve won for "Revolutionary Road".

Bruce should`ve been nominated.

Clint should be nominated every year, no matter if has a film or not.

But then again - there`s one thing i`ve always liked saying - Who gives a crap really?

If you can tell which movies should`ve won, which performances should`ve win, hell, which performances should`ve been NOMINATED, then you ain`t got no problems. If you think everything`s alright and dandy, then hell - so be it.

I agree with all Mr. Travers' complaints. It seems to me, however, that this is an awfully weak year for cinema in general; looking over all the nominated films, none really jump out as me as classics which people will be watching 20 years from now. There is not a "No Country For Old Men" or "Schindler's List" in the batch; some very good movies, but nothing great.

All that said, I love that the Academy nominated Werner Herzog's "Encounters At the End of the World" for Best Feature-Length Documentary. The documentary itself is breathtaking, and it's about time the legendary filmmaker Herzog gets an Oscar nomination (not that he would care one way or the other).

Best:
-Best Actor sans Brad Pitt
-Best Supporting Actors and Actresses (even though he wont win, the nomination of Downey Jr. as Kirk Lazarus is a pretty impressive thing for the academy to do following their track record of loathing comedy)
-Slumdog Millionaire's nominations
Worst:
-Benjamin Button's nominations (face it academy, the movie is probably the worst of all the 'best picture' type movies available this awards season)
-Angelina Jolie in Best Actress?!?!
-Mindlessly selecting the same films for Director and Best Picture (it just seems half assed, like most of this year's production does)
-The lack of notoriety for Gran Torino (Clint Eastwood's most fun film in a long time, which also had some excellent acting on HIS part)

Basically, Slumdog had better sweep up as many as it can. The soap about 'The Boss' not getting a nod for best song is dumb (sorry Peter). Would anyone really want to put themselves in the same category as Phil Collins or Elton John nowadays? He wrote a good song because he's a good artist and was already awarded for it. Screw the Academy, I think it's time we put more focus on the Golden Globes (an awards show that actually seems to be more adaptive to the times!)