Oscar.
I have no real favorites for the Oscars tonight. Frankly, like most, I didn’t see many of the movies this year.
I did see the nominee for best foreign film, The Class, and loved it. But the word is it isn’t going to win against Waltz with Bashir, a film I haven’t seen.
I only saw Slumdog and Milk among the best picture choices. I liked two thirds of Slumdog. The first half was great. I really got into the story of the kids. I loved the Bollywood dance ending. But the love story second half and the whole quiz show premise were too goofy for me.
I thought Sean Penn and James Franco were terrific in Milk. But I thought the writing and the direction were sloppy and distracting.
I watched Mickey Rourke get the award for acting on the Independent Spirit awards yesterday. I haven’t seen The Wrestler, but he sure is entertaining at winning awards and I figure they’ll have their finger on the bleep button quick if he wins tonight.
But here’s my list of my all-time 5 favorite school movies.
I already mentioned my new favorite: The Class.
- Nick Nolte in Teachers
- Sidney Poitier in To Sir With Love
- Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society
- Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure
I thought The Class was tremendous. Slumdogs was so much fun, but a real lightweight.
Just another year of me not seeing very many nominees…
I’m glad you agree about The Class. I just thought there wasn’t a false moment in the entire movie. And if you aren’t touched by the stories of the students, (and without giving away too much, by the one quiet girl who comes up to Mr. Marin at the end of the year) you have no warm blood in your veins.
You guys are making me feel bad. I don’t think I’ve been out to a movie that didn’t involve cartoon characters in ten years.
You must have kids at home.
Rule #1: Never watch a cartoon that is longer than three minutes or doesn’t end with “That’s All Folks!”
Rule #2: Never watch a movie that has John Malkovich in it.
You know the story, right? The only trained actor was Sulemein’s mother… If you don’t know it, go to the movie website and read all the notes… fascinating.
http://www.sonyclassics.com/theclass/
Click “The Film” and then (after the bitty video runs) click “Interview with….” It’s worth clicking/scrolling through the whole thing.
I loved going to the movies when I was a kid. I am glad I go sometimes, now. But I could really go a lot more, and it would never get to be too much.