Fresh Loaf

The bar at the Fork & Screen

I wasn’t sure I was cut out for spending a Saturday watching all five best picture nominees back-to-back in a Buckhead dinner theater. This was the kind of activity reserved for trekkies or Star Wars and Lord  of the Rings fanatics. But work demands sacrifices, and since I’m in charge of CL’s Oscar live-blog tonight, I figured I owed it to y’all to have seen more than Pineapple Express and Slumdog Millionaire. As it turns out, I’m pretty good at sitting, watching and eating for hours on end. Allison Keene, aka the Televangelist, who came along too, ain’t too bad either. The AMC Buckhead Fork & Screen proved a decent venue, if a bit cold and noisy. But once I got my coffee and we figured out how to adjust our seats, things went fairly smoothly. When I sat down today to do my recap, Allison had already turned one out. So rather than tell you the same things twice, I’ll leave you with Allison’s tales of German indiscretions, fanny fatigue, and four out of five recommendations (with which I concur)…:

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The Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA), whose members include Creative Loafing Atlanta’s Curt Holman and former critic Felicia Feaster as well as Creative Loafing Charlotte’s Matt Brunson, yesterday named Milk the Best Picture of 2008 in its 17th annual voting. Director Gus Van Sant’s powerful look at slain activist Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to hold public office in the nation, earned a total of three awards, with its other victories coming in the categories of Best Actor (Sean Penn, pictured) and Best Original Screenplay (Dustin Lance Black).

The uplifting drama Slumdog Millionaire proved to be the only other film snagging more than one prize, as it copped awards for Best Director (Danny Boyle) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Simon Beaufoy, adapting Vikas Swarup’s novel Q&A).

In the closest contest of the day, Anne Hathaway received the Best Actress award for her performance as a recovering addict in Rachel Getting Married; she beat The Reader’s Kate Winslet by two points. Winslet also earned multiple votes for her work in Revolutionary Road. (The Reader and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button open in Atlanta on Dec. 25. Other strong contenders such as Revolutionary Road and The Wrestler open in early January.)

The late Heath Ledger won Best Supporting Actor for his mesmerizing take on The Joker in the summer blockbuster The Dark Knight, while Penelope Cruz earned Best Supporting Actress kudos for her turn as a feisty free spirit in Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

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FINAL ANSWER? Dev Patel as Jamal Malik (left) and Anil Kapoor

Few movie franchises can match the global success or irresistible watchability of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” which, according to the BBC News, has been broadcast as various versions of itself in more than 100 countries. No matter how little you care about quiz shows, if a few minutes of “Millionaire” catch your eye, you’ll quickly find yourself completely sucked in, screaming answers or instructions like “Phone a friend!” at the television.

The shameless melodrama Slumdog Millionaire uses the worldwide familiarity with the game show’s rituals to seize the audience’s attention. Slumdog, directed by English filmmaker Danny Boyle, takes place in India, so hapless young contestant Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) plays for rupees, not dollars, but the conventions prove completely the same. On the space age set, amid the dramatic sound effects and goaded by the bullying host (Anil Kapoor), Jamal looks like a deer in the stage lights. (more…)

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Today’s Air Loaf features CL’s Chanté LaGon and Curt Holman chatting about films opening during the holiday season, including Milk, Australia, Slumdog Millionaire, Frost/Nixon, and Bolt.

Air Loaf is broadcast weekdays on 1690 WMLB-AM at approximately 8:10 a.m., 12:20 p.m. and 6:20 p.m.

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