Thursday
04Dec2008
'Slumdog' Named Best Film of 2008 by National Board of Review
Thursday, December 4, 2008 at 3:04PM
The National Board of Review, annually the first group to
award its end-of-the-year honors, has named
Slumdog Millionaire
its top movie of 2008. No argument here.
Clint Eastwood won an award, too - for Best
Actor in
Gran Torino, if you can believe it. Actually,
it makes no difference whether or not you believe it; he won.
Burn After Reading
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Defiance
Frost/Nixon
Gran Torino
Milk
Wall-E
The Wrestler
Best Film - Slumdog Millionaire
Best Director - David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Best Actor - Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino
Best Actress - Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Best Supporting Actor - Josh Brolin, Milk
Best Supporting Actress - Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Best Foreign Foreign Language Film - Mongol
Best Documentary - Man on Wire
Best Animated Feature - WALL-E
Best Ensemble Cast - Doubt
Breakthrough Performance by an Actor - Dev Patel, Slumdog Millionaire
Breakthrough Performance by an Actress - Viola Davis, Doubt
Best Directorial Debut - Courtney Hunt, Frozen River
Best Original Screenplay - Nick Schenk, Gran Torino
Best Adapted Screenplay - Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire and Eric Roth, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Spotlight Award - Melissa Leo, Frozen River and Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
The BVLGARI Award for NBR Freedom of Expression - Trumbo
Top Ten Films (in alphabetical order):
Burn After Reading
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Defiance
Frost/Nixon
Gran Torino
Milk
Wall-E
The Wrestler
So now, officially, the race is on.
Reader Comments (5)
YAY!! Slumdog!!
No argument from me, either.
As for the top ten, I LOVE the Cohens but I don't know that Burn After reading really rates in this years top ten. I think my biggest dissapoint, this season, is that no one seems to remember or care about the film Elegy. I was certain Cruz would be nominated for her work in that film over V.C.Barcelona and I thought Ben Kingsley was outstanding, as well. Elegy is definitely in MY top ten for 2008.
I thought Cruz was much better in Elegy than in Vicky Cristina. The only issue I have with Elegy is it seems to me that Kingsley gets a pass for his behavior at the end, after not having earned one. I mean, when you have a hard time connecting to a character, you want there to be something that pushes him or her into the realm of relatability, and I just didn't get that in Elegy.
I related to Kingsley's character, probably more than I'd care to admit, but I think I can see where you're coming from. I wouldn't nominate it for Best Picture but, again, it's in my top ten. I've found myself starving for intelligent stories, lately, and, for me, this was one of the smarter flicks this year ( I'd put the Visitor in that class as well).
Yeah, no question, it's a good movie. And smart.
What a joke! It's all a part of the plan. We're going to put a smile on the Oscar face!