The Reader vs. Slumdog Millionaire

Now that the Oscars are less than a week away, Zach and Bill weigh in on two of the contenders for Best Picture - The Reader (5 nominations) and Slumdog Millionaire (10 nominations). Their opinions may surprise you. Finally, an episode with some strong disagreements!

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Frost/Nixon

Ron Howard's film adaptation of Peter Morgan's Frost/Nixon has pulled in five Oscar nominations, including Best Director (Ron Howard), Best Editing, Adapted Screenplay (Peter Morgan), Best Actor (Frank Langella) and the coveted Best Picture. Zach and Will checked it out to see how it holds up against this year's other Oscar movies.

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Show notes:
As Will asserted during the show (to Zach's disbelief) Frank Langella and Michael Sheen did star in the stage version of Frost/Nixon

Doubt

What does the director of Joe Versus the Volcano know about drama? A lot apparently. In this episode, Bill and Zach discuss Doubt, a film with five Oscar nominations - four of them in acting categories. This one's full of spoilers so stay away if you haven't seen the movie.

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Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Is Woody Allen's latest offering worth checking out? Is it an improperly marketed gem or an improperly marketed cinematic trick? Did it deserve the Golden Globe? Do Scarlett Johansson, Penelope Cruz, and Javier Bardem make a good threesome? How does a poet who never publishes anything earn a living? We may not answer all these questions, but at least we'll discuss them.

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Check out Zach's review
Show notes:
Penelope Cruz was previously nominated for Best Actress in 2007 for the film Volver (Will wins this one)

Annual Movie Bonfire Oscar-cast

How is the 81st Annual Academy Awards show shaping up in terms of movie watchability? What happened to The Dark Knight? Is this going to be Kate Winslet's year? Does The Curious Case of Benjamin Button deserve 13 Oscar nominations? Zach and Bill talk about the recently released 2009 Oscar nominations, or at least the "important" categories...

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Show notes -
For a complete list of 2009 Oscar nominations, visit the Oscar site

Wrestling with The Wrestler

Zach and Bill may not always agree when it comes to film, but every now and then, there's a film that both of them can root for. Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler is such a film. Mickey Rourke is back and clearly demonstrating why he's contending for a Best Actor Oscar this year.

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Show notes:
This podcast was recorded before the Oscar nominations (before Rourke's Best Actor and Marisa Tomei's Best Supporting Actress nods were official)
More info on the Marisa Tomei Oscar "scandal" at Snopes

Revolutionary Road

Now that it's Oscar season, Movie Bonfire is back. In this episode the guys talk about the new Sam Mendes film Revolutionary Road. Is it just a star-studded American Beauty prequel or is it worthy of the praise (and Golden Globe nods) that it's gotten? Wait, don't answer that - listen to the podcast and let us tell you.

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