Movie Award Shows -- Greatness or Garbage?

Working at Sundance Cinema 608 I am surrounded by individuals who are plugged into the film world and given on-going opportunities to view independent, art, foreign, and some mainstream films.  As the movie award show season is upon us, so are many of the year's best films.  We are currently showing: Slumdog Millionaire, The Reader, Milk, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Doubt, and Gran Torino.  We've also recently had Rachel Getting Married, The Boy in Striped Pajamas, Changeling, and Synecdoche New York.  I did not have a chance to see all of them, but for the most part what I did see was worth the time.

In addition, I enjoyed Seven Pounds with Will Smith and Australia.  Neither got good reviews.  I stopped paying attention to movie reviews once I started working at a theatre and realized how subjective they can be.  Seven Pounds left me in tears, even as I woke up the next day thinking about it.  I had gone to Australia thinking at the least I would get to take in some great scenes of the country -- not so much -- however, the film itself was far more entertaining than reviewers claimed.  

As the Golden Globes are upon us and the Academy will be announcing its nominees soon, I am struck by how different the nominees are compared to the in-person reviews I have heard at Sundance.  Personally, I think Milk is the best film we are currently showing at Sundance and the best film amongst the nominees.  Unfortunately, it is not even a contender for best picture of the year at the Golden Globes, which historically means it will be unlikely to be well-represented at the Oscars either.  Slumdog Millionaire has gotten tons of press and promotions toting it as the "it" film.  It is an excellent film, however, I think Milk is a better acted and edited film.  Go see them both and let me know what you think.

I haven't even bothered to go see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.  First, I am not much of a fan of either Brad Pitt or Cate Blanchet.  Second, the reviews were pretty iffy in the paper and the in-person ones at Sundance have been much the same.  Finally, the story line just isn't that interesting to me.  But of course it is nominated for a whole slew of awards.  

The award shows for the rich and famous have never done much to entice me.  Looking at this year's Golden Globe nominees makes me even less interested.  Skip the shows and make a decision for yourself.  I am not convinced they are identifying any greatness among the masses.  There seems to be a lot of attraction to less than stellar work.