Oscars 2009

So on Saturday I got to see all 5 Best Picture nominees back to back. First let me say how fun this was!! The place was PACKED - sold out completely. Many people come every year and apparently get there really early, as we showed up (pre-purchased tickets) about 1/2 hour early and had to sit in the 8th row. Luckily, it was a stadium theater, so it wasn't too bad. The order of the movies was Milk, The Reader, Benjamin Buttons, Slumdog Millionaire, Frost/Nixon. There was about 1/2 hour between each flick (no previews), and few restaurants next door to the theater. Although I mostly ate popcorn and chocolate all day. (hee hee).

I LOVED Milk. It was my favorite of the 5. What an uplifting story..well, except for the end. But really - so great. Sean Penn was AWESOME and COMPLETELY deserved his Oscar last night. He WAS Harvey Milk. I didn't even recognize him as Sean Penn about 20 minutes in. The Reader was very provocative. I don't mean the nudity (of which there was a lot!) - but the story was very intriguing. Benjamin Buttons was a cool story and I would love to see how they did some of the special effects. I did enjoy Slumdog. Really interesting story - and a little something for everyone - romance, mafia, adventure, good vs evil, happy endings. It was my 2nd favorite. I did not like Frost/Nixon. First, I think the timing of the day was bad. It was definitely the driest material - don't save it for last after being in the theater for 12 hours. I fell asleep for a few minutes - which was not all the fault of the film - but it just didn't do anything for me. Frank Langella was great. He really took on the part. But that one I don't need to see again. So my favorites were:

1) Milk
2) Slumdog
3) Reader
4) Benjamin Buttons
5) Frost/Nixon

Then of course I stayed up to watch the Oscars. So I am movied-out right now. But I hope to do it all again next year!