And The Oscar Goes To...

I know...the Oscars were months ago. You know who took home the gold bald dudes. Being a Mom, I did not get a chance to go to the local megaplex to see the movies that were up for Oscar. So, I waited for them on DVD. You probably have seen them by this point. In case you haven't...or you just like my reviews...see below.

Disclaimer...not all the Oscar contenders were watched by the blogger. Additionally, the blogger reserves the right to add in other movies she has seen that did not come close to getting even an Oscar nod for best costume design, sound editing or special effects.

Slumdog Millionaire - I really wanted to see this one because it sweeped like every award show in the known universe. The basic plot is that a "slumdog" who has lived a very hard life makes his way onto India's version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. He didn't get on the show to win the money. He went on the show so that the woman he loves...has always loved...will see him and find a way to find him. To the chagrin of the show organizers, he does very well. Since he is just a boy from the slums...aka slumdog...they think there is no way he could know all the answers so they have him thrown in jail for cheating. The story unfolds in the jail. He tells the jailer bits and pieces of his life story because those bits and pieces are the reasons he knew the answers. New comers Dev Patel and Freida Pinto are wonderful as the leads...as are the kids that play them in the flashbacks. It is a powerful story and one I would highly recommend. I only have two issues and I will share them because they don't give the story away. First, the director chose to end the movie with what looks a lot like a dance scene from High School Musical. Two hours of bad things happening to people in Mumbai and then jazz hands! Just weird. Second, it makes me really not want to go to India which I thought I would enjoy visiting some day in the future when I am rich. Of course, I probably don't have to worry about the rich part so who cares. All that aside, watch it. It deserved the Oscars it got!

The Reader - Funny bit of trivia before I type about this one. Kate Winslet had been nominated for like 100 Oscars before the nod for The Reader. A couple of years ago she did a skit on a SNL type British show. During her skit she ranted that she guessed she would have to make a movie about the Holocaust because the people that do Holocaust movies have Oscars coming out their arses! Well, she was right! Fast forward a couple of years and good old Kate makes The Reader. It is about a woman in her mid-thirties in post WWII Germany. She meets a teenage boy in a chance encounter and helps him when he becomes ill. After he recovers, he seeks her out to thank her. Well, let's just say that he ends up thanking her on a fairly regular basis. She asks him to read to her and he does...then he usually thanks her again. She ends up leaving and it crushes the boy. A couple of years later, while he is a law student, he sees his love on trial for Nazi war crimes. Seems his love was working for the Nazi as a guard back during the war. There are some parts that I don't want to give away but she ends up in prison. The story is well done and Ralph Fines does a great job as the boy grown up looking back on the effect this older woman had on his life. I would recommend this one too. Just be aware that the love scenes between Kate and the teenager are a bit graphic. Oh...and Kate got her Oscar for this Holocaust movie!

Milk - Didn't see it...don't plan to. Why? Mostly Sean Penn...

Bride Wars - I know, this one had no chance at Oscar but I saw it so I am going to type about it! Two best friends. One shared dream. A wedding at The Plaza. As fate (or movie magic) would have it, they both end up engaged and begin planning their dream weddings at the same time. They book the most exclusive wedding planner in NYC and both get dates for The Plaza. Not long after, the wedding planner calls them in to inform them of a terrible mistake. The bookings got mixed up and they are booked for the same day at The Plaza. What to do? Well, one of them will just have to cancel her dream Plaza wedding and find a new venue. Not so much. These two friends end up fighting almost to the death over these weddings. They do some really horrible things to each other...OK, they are funny to us watching but are terrible if they happened to you sorta thing. I will not spoil the ending for you but it has some unexpected twists. This movie should be a warning to all men. If we, as women, would treat our best friend like this over a wedding, imagine what terrors we can inflict upon you! Something to think about...

More later...LOST is coming on tonight and I have to go unpack my action figures so I can act out the show. KIDDING! I wouldn't dare take those action figures out of their boxes. It would ruin their value!