Revolutionary Road

I just saw Revolutionary Road and absolutely LOVED it! I was a little disappointed. As some of you may know, when the movie was first announced two years ago I was extremely excited about the Kate and Leo reunion. I found out that the film would be an adaptation of the novel of the same name and went online trying to find out something about what the film would be about. I accidentally happened upon a full synopsis of the book and read it before I realized that it would give the full plot. This was a major disappointment. Those of you that know me know that I hate it when endings are ruined for me.

This, I soon realized upon actually seeing the film, was a minor setback. Although the story and plot were amazing, the power and depth that the entire cast (but especially Kate and Leo) brought to their characters and to every scene is something that could not be ruined by a synopsis. This was definitely a character-driven film.

I encourage everyone to see this film and all films nominated for Oscars. I always have much more fun watching if I fill out a ballot first. I recently made a list of all the films that I still have to see before the Oscars and will be reviewing them here. Also, if anyone has any films recommendations that were left off of the nominations list, please put them in the comments.

Oscars

This time of year is always my favorite for two reasons. Reason number one is my birthday, and reason number two is the Academy Awards. This year, I was kind of disappointed. For those of you who do not know, the nominations were all announced the other day. Here are the nominations:

81st Academy Awards main nominations:

Best Picture:

'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'

'Frost/Nixon'

'Milk'

'The Reader'

'Slumdog Millionaire'

Best Actor:

Richard Jenkins 'The Visitor'

Brad Pitt 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'

Frank Langella 'Frost/Nixon'

Sean Penn 'Milk'

Mickey Rourke 'The Wrestler'

Best Actress:

Anne Hathaway 'Rachel Getting Married'

Melissa Leo 'Frozen River'

Meryl Street 'Doubt'

Angelina Jolie 'Changeling'

Kate Winslet 'The Reader'

Best Supporting Actor:

Josh Brolin 'Milk'

Robert Downey Jr. 'Tropic Thunder'

Philip Seymour Hoffman 'Doubt'

Heath Ledger 'The Dark Knight'

Michael Shannon 'Revolutionary Road'

Best Supporting Actress:

Amy Adams 'Doubt'

Penelope Cruz 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona'

Viola Davis 'Doubt'

Taraji P. Henson 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'

Best Director:

David Fincher 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'

Ron Howard 'Frost/Nixon'

Gus Van Sant 'Milk'

Stephen Daldry 'The Reader'

Danny Boyle 'Slumdog Millionaire'

Best Animated Feature Film:

'Bolt'

'Kung Fu Panda'

'Wall-E'

Best Adapted Screenplay:

'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'

'Doubt'

'Frost/Nixon'

'The Reader'

'Slumdog Millionaire'

Best Original Screenplay:

'Frozen River'

'Happy-Go-Lucky'

'In Bruges'

'Milk'

'Wall-E'

Now, the reason that I am annoyed deals directly with Revolutionary Road or the lack of its presence on the list. I am especially annoyed with what happened with Kate Winslet's nomination. Those of you that saw the recent golden globes know that She won for best actress (for Revolutionary Road) and best supporting actress (for The Reader). If you read the Academy Award nominations, you will notice that she has been nominated for best actress for The Reader. Her role in The Reader is a supporting role, so it seems unlikely that she will win. This really bugs me. She would have such a better chance of winning were she to be nominated in the supporting actress category. I of course also think that she should be nominated for Revolutionary Road. I do not understand how she could be left off the list.

Does any one else have any opinions on the nominations?