Directors have their say

I don't disagree with the nominated films. I do think GRAN TORINO and THE WRESTLER seem to be overlooked. My dark horse (and know, my favorite film of the year was The Dark Knight) is a film that has gotten little to no buzz – but was brilliant and superbly directed: APPALOOSA by Ed Harris. I love Clint Eastwood's directing – but Harris made a western that even Eastwood must recognize as brilliant.

Others left out include In Bruges and The Wrestler.

And I know I'm alone in this, but I thought Slumdog was incredibly overrated. It was good, but not as amazing as people are claiming... I know the movie is supposed to be about destiny, but still, the plot felt far too contrived.

Gran Torino is the best film that I have seen this year by far. I would remove Milk from the list in favor of Gran Torino. Milk is a good picture but part of the glow that surrounds this film is the political and social message it puts forth. It won't stand the test of time. People will look back years from now and wonder what all the fuss was about. Does anyone remember Kramer vs Kramer?

Just have to mention the 'drug' comment about Rbt Downey. Seems his dad started him at about age 8. Where I come from that is called child abuse & he's recovering & a skilled excellent actor. So glad he has great talent to help him stay in recovery Lots of prayers for all in that situation. Best Pic for me Frost/Nixon – tho I'm old enough to have seen & remember the real interviews & know the drunk scene is fiction as far as we know – it is an astonishing work all around.

What about "Doubt" and "Changeling"? Those two movies are excellent!

The DGA got it right when they nominated Christopher Nolan for "The Dark Knight." His film deserves to be nominated for best picture by the AA. Unfortunately, the academy will most likely deny it a nomination, since its a "Comic Book Movie" and it made plane loads of money at the box office. The reson the film was so successful because it was the best movie of 2008. The last time a film sold that many tickets was a (silly at times) movie called Titanic. I think that movie got a few considerations if I remember right...

I would have picked "In Bruges" over "The Dark Knight" any day.

Last year, Atonement got nominated despite its director. Really, if there was one thing wrong with Atonement, it was that the director was too in love with the idea of how good a film he was making. Its amazing to have a 22 minute long single scene... but maybe something should actually happen during those 22 minutes.

Revolutionary Road takes the cake for me. Sam Mendes did what Sam Mendes does, tells perfect stories. Also I don't understand why Dark Knight would be nominated for anything other than Heath's supporting role. Although I'll admit the screenplay was pretty solid.

I think it is a real shame that Wall-E was not listed. To create such a
"feeling" movie without people, with little dialogue, etc . . . . Only a matter of time I hope before animation is given its due.

Missing from this list IMO are Let the Right One In (my personal favorite along with SDM) and The Wrestler.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button seemed like manufactured "Oscar bait". It didn't resonate with me at all and I believe it's nominations are more of a self-congratulatory pat on it's own back by the industry.

um, to the fellow who questioned who even remembers "Kramer Vs.Kramer"...the answer is I do. and I remember Ordinary People, too and any other great drama from the past. just because a Best Picture nominee or winner doesn't feature special effects or make a ton of money doesn't mean we should forget it. i'll take the 70s heyday over this millenium's movies any day. dark knight is a great movie, but hardly the best movie of the year. frost/nixon is perfect.

Revolutionary Road over Benjamin Button any day...Button was bloated and left you with nothing. Winslet and DiCaprio are excellent in RR and the screenplay is one of the best in years.

Nowhere do I see any mention of Guy Ritchie's fantastic 2008 movie, RocknRolla!

I think Aronofsky's "The Wrestler" get's the snub because of it's lack of star-power. But it was definitely an amazing film. Same can be said of "Gran Torino" but Eastwood has put out films with bigger draws and much more critical acclaim this decade. That's probably why he's out. Wall-E, as mentioned, will fall into the animated category (apparently industry people weren't too happy about Beauty and the Beast getting a Best Picture nod a few decades ago).

Also: As mentioned before "In Bruges" is the one that really gets me. What a terrific, pitch-perfect film! "Synecdoche" is another terrific film that has seemed to have fallen to the side this award season. Another great piece of work by Charlie Kaufman.

I do not see why anything with Sean Penn is nominated except for political or popularity reasons. Walleye well hello who were they directing cartoons or people. I can see why a Directors Guild would nominate Dark Knight. to deal with all the specials in this film and direct an actor who made people forget a memorable performance by Jack Nicholson. This is a directorial achievement. Let's see Gran Torino or The Wrestler could have replaced Milk but Milk has its political coterie.

Gran Torino – best film. Very distressing. Unsettling. A politically incorrect film that really reaches, stretches across the aisle. It speaks to redemption and resurrection having little to do with religion and everything to do with our own humanity in spite of ourselves.

Darren Aronofsky deserves a nomination for The Wrestler. He fought to keep Mickey Rourke on this movie when others wanted a bigger name (Nicholas Cage was originally signed for the role) and got the performance of a lifetime out of Mickey. The Wrestler is one of the best films not only of 2008, but of the decade, and absolutely deserves a nomination. Milk and Benjamin Button, to me, don't even come close.

Gran torino – good movie? YES! but deserve a nomination? maybe for eastwoods acting, or the screenplay, but not for directing, some of those actors and scenes were very amateurish. I must say I saw it twice cause i liked it so much (great dialogue) but not award quality work... mendes's Rev. Rd. was brilliant, almost too real for comfort.. but nicely done.. button was slow, good but slow... im happy 7 pounds is not being talked about cause i thought it was slow, unrewarding, and just meant to depress you into thinking its a good movie, which its not.. I honestly dont think any 2008 movies were ABSOLUTELY GREAT, .. hopefully 09 will be better

If "Slumdog Millionaire" and "Mickey Rourke" are where the movie industry is going, then they can GO cause I'm not wasting another dollar or another moment in a movie theater if this is the kind of garbage they give awards to!

That gets us wondering about the Halo movie. What will the critics say about that? Will they think of it as "childish"? Or will they say it's brilliant? If that list up there is said to be the worst top 5 films of the year, who knows?