A day late and a dollar short. Apologies.
This past month I have been plotting out a simple exercise, a look at the major Oscar winning films (and one highly touted contender) and their exhibition history in Baltimore.
Slumdog Millionaire (8 Academy Awards including Best Picture)
How the Charles got this one will remain a mystery, but the theater did and has held onto the film ever since, from its start as a crowd-pleasing upstart with strong word of mouth this fall to its current status as a box office barnstorming, award winning Bollywood-lite hit. My bet is that it will play locally until the week it makes it to DVD.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (3 Academy Awards for technical achievements)
This weird, smart Forrest Gump do-over really made its bones around Christmas time, riding some critical hype into the Landmark and the Senator. But even Brad Pitt could not keep this old man boy three hour curiosity from losing serious steam. The lack of big wins was the final straw. By the evening of the Academy Awards, the Senator had moved on to Madea Goes to Jail. The Landmark is shutting 'er down tomorrow.
The Wrestler (Zero Academy Awards)
The one seemed like a gimmie, a clear climax to a narrative arc. Granted, an audience that wants to see some wrasslin' probably could care less. But still it was not the outcome that was expected for this worthwhile but flawed film. The film soldiers on at the Landamark Harbor East for now.
Milk (Two Academy Awards- Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay)
It is hard to be upset about this one winning. The Charles had the film exclusively very early on, for a time on two screens, and continues to show it. I hope that an Oscar-bump, which some claim is a myth,. helps to encourage more people to see and enjoy this moving film.
The Dark Knight (Two Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actor)
It was interesting to see what was made of this box office juggernaut getting some Academy love. I believe an effort to bring it back to area theaters to wring more bat-money out of it was about as successful as the unrated, milder re-cut of the Passion of the Christ. It played in the summertime at the expected placea, helping the Landmark Harbor East win Best Movie Theater, Suburbs in this year's City Paper Best of Baltimore.
The Reader (One Academy Award for Best Actress)
This one has had just the right run, opening when you wanted to see it and sticking around to be checked out after the awards season by those who are looking for a real bummer of an afternoon or evening at the Harbor East. I would expect no less from the Harvey Weinstein Oscar Winning Machine.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (One Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress)
Ah, yes... the official Film that Would Not Die of the 2008 Baltimore exhibition season! I half-suspected that it would return once again to take up valuable real estate despite its release on DVD before the Academy Awards were given out. It just would not leave Baltimore theaters, for good or for ill
Man on Wire (One Academy Award for Best Documentary)
This one was a switcheroo, managing to appear to be heading to the Landmark before detouring into a welcomed run at the Charles. The film skirted my top ten films 0f 2008 list and has become a bit of a rallying point for many of my friends who aspire to such audacious and radical acts. Worth renting, maybe even owning.
Well, that's it for now. The Senator stands at the precipice of implosion, with various parties looking like they are willing to duke it out to the death. I found the article linked here to be instructive as to where things stand. When I see Watchmen at the Senator sometime soon, I will try to keep the faint sound of The End from playing in my mind througout.
Up next, the movies I watched in February of 2009.
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