Cinema Cowboys

I'm a rabid film junkie, and I don't often apologize for imposing my cinematic taste on unwitting victims. In that vein, I wanted to write something long and harsh about this year's Academy Award race, but I bored myself somewhere in the process. Film in 2008 was remarkable largely in its mediocrity. There were definitely good films: The Dark Knight provided redemption for popcorn movies, Slumbog made everyone feel good (even this surly frenchman) for at least five minutes. The Wrestler was superb and underappreciated as a film, as was Rachel Getting Married. And Wall-E's first half was a brilliant kick-back to Buster Keaton-era cinema. I haven't seen Milk yet but I hear it's pretty clutch (I have to forgive Gus Van Sant for "Gerry" before I'll let myself buy a ticket for Milk). But The Reader, Revolutionary Road, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Vickie Christina Barcelona, Benjamin Button...well, it's hard for me to get excited about any of these contenders.

But the Oscars are kinda a joke anyway, and I suspect everyone knows it. The same goes for the Grammys, or hell, any awards show. Expecting an awards show to track artistic merit is like trying to determine whether "reading" or "hanging out with friends" is more fun by recourse to a statistical sampling of facebook profiles. People's aesthetic tastes, in the aggregate, are pretty lame, and serve only to validate the great white middle. It's the same dynamic that justifies why elevator music exists at all: nobody really likes it, but no one is too offended by it either.

So, instead of giving you my aimless opinion about the Oscars, I'm recommending a few sites that are focused on great cinematography:

Best Cinematography from 2008

Best Cinematography from 2007

Cinematography in opening scenes

For my money, Roger Deakins is the messiah.