Wrapping up the Oscar bait of '08

I haven't seen all of the hyped up award flicks of 2008 yet, but since I had a month off for the holiday season, I tried to take advantage as best I could to catch-up on a few films that had made their way to the Columbus cinemas. I've seen all of the buzzed-up films I want to see, with the exception of THE WRESTLER which I'm really anxious to see, especially after watching Mickey Rourke stumble up the steps on his way to accepting the award for Best Actor at the Golden Globes.

So yeah, here are some brief reviews on three highly-touted 2008 (one is technically an '09 release) films: SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, and GRAN TORINO.

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (2008)

Make fun of me all you want, but you'll have a hard time convincing me that Danny Boyle isn't one of the best Hollywood directors out there. With a knack for fresh takes on genre films accompanied by his trademark dutch tilts and popping palettes, Boyle has made a name for himself as one of the premier directors in the game.

SLUMDOG has generated more buzz and won more awards than just about any other film this season, so it certainly had the burden of high expectations surrounding it. And while SLUMDOG is nothing short of beautiful as a love story, and the narrative is certainly not your run-of-the-mill, point-a-to-point-b romance, its structure is dishearteningly contrived, relying on telling the story in three different places in time, ultimately coming off as too much, and at times, far too ironic for its own good. For a film that's on the fast-track for winning Best Picture, SLUMDOG's choice of narrative structure left me nothing but disappointed.

Don't get me wrong, SLUMDOG is still a good film, mostly because of Danny Boyle's gorgeous visuals and a brilliant take on the classic "root-for-the-underdog" story with some cultural flavor thrown in. While SLUMDOG doesn't really try to be a rags-to-riches film underneath the covers, it certainly ends up being one, just not in the sense of equating money with happiness. After all, Jamal (the lead character) isn't about money. He's about finding his childhood love through perserverance and overcoming of societal restrictions. When he finally gets his chance, you can't help but root for him.

SLUMDOG ends up a slight disappointment, but it's still a feel-good film that's put over-the-top by solid direction and fantastic visuals.

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON (2008)

After being somewhat letdown by SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, I came into THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON a little shaky. I like David Fincher and I like his body of work, so the bar was set just as high as it was with Boyle and SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. BUTTON proved good, but again, I found myself wanting more.

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON is curious indeed, telling the tale of a man born old and ages in reverse. While certainly helped by the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel upon which it is based, BUTTON is movie storytelling at its pinnacle. It's skin deep and mystical but borderline self-indulgent and overlong. Once you get through it though, BUTTON shows itself to be a respectable film helped along by a splendid performance by Brad Pitt, gorgeous lensing by Fincher, and some of the most effective CGI you will ever see outside of popcorn cinema.

BUTTON is a satisfying watch, though it is a bit too tepid and a little too FORREST GUMP 2 for my tastes. Still a nice lookin' film, though.

GRAN TORINO (2009)

I'll admit it. I'm not as familiar with Clint Eastwood's body of work as others. Shoot me.

Needless to say I had high expectations for this film, especially after the buzz it was receiving on the award tour. I'd seen the trailers, and while I'm usually kind of iffy on films portraying gangs and rough kids that are intimidated and stomped around by old men, I must admit that if anyone could pass it off as believeable, it'd be Clint Eastwood.

GRAN TORINO is funny, that's for sure, though if you found the racial slurs of FULL METAL JACKET to be offensive, you probably won't be too keen on Eastwood's choice of monikers in GRAN TORINO. For the film's sake, GRAN TORINO isn't a comedy, nor does it try to build itself around the humor, but instead showing that with the help of some really Asian neighbors, you can free yourself of eighty years of bigotry with the help of one "gook" sidekick.

GRAN TORINO is some moderately deep stuff, and while it's easy to forget the meaning underneath all of the Asian jokes, it returns to the forefront in a resounding finale at the end of the film. And heck, any film that makes the PC (politically correct) crowd look like the sissies that they are is certainly worth my ten bucks.

I'm lumping GRAN TORINO with 2008 releases to create a revised top ten list of 2008:

10. CLOVERFIELD
9. QUANTUM OF SOLACE
8. BURN AFTER READING
7. THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
6. SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
5. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
4. FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL
3. GRAN TORINO
2. THE DARK KNIGHT
1. WALL-E