Awards Season

I've been meaning to post every time there's been an awards ceremony in the past few weeks - first after the Golden Globes, then after the BAFTAs, then after the Oscars. I've failed at every opportunity, so now that they're over, it seems sensible to just write one post summing up this years awards!

Unless you've been living in a box, you'll know that Slumdog Millionaire basically walked away with every award going, with the exclusion of best actor and best actress. It's hard to disagree with that decision - the film has a lot going for it and whilst it's perhaps not my favourite "awards" film, it certainly rates very highly - and definitely deserves the awards over and above the other major contender, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It's also, I expect, much more audience-friendly than the other awards films I would personally recommend.

As for best actor, Sean Penn fully deserved the award at the Oscars. He's excellent in Milk, another excellent movie that should have been Slumdog Millionaires main contender. As for Mickey Rourke's win for best actor at the BAFTAs, it's hard to comment as this is one film I've failed to see. I have been meaning to, but it's tough with all the other films there are to watch at this time of year!

I also haven't seen The Reader, so can't comment on Kate Winslet's performance in it (which won her best actress at both the BAFTAs and the Oscars). However, I did get around to seeing Revolutionary Road yesterday (post to appear soon), and if what they say about awards ceremonies honouring the actress rather than the performance is true, she really deserves the award. She's excellent in Revolutionary Road.

Which leads me on to another point - Leonardo DiCaprio is also excellent in this film. Winslet and DiCpario both give amazing performances, and I think DiCaprio's one person who really missed out at the awards shows this year. That's not to say that he should have won best actor over Sean Penn or Mickey Rourke, but he should at least been up for a nomination. In my opinion, DiCaprio's never been this good before.

In conclusion, this year has been far better than some for honouring the right movies (in my opinion at least), but they never get it quite right, do they?