The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is frequently wrong, and here's why:

'Changeling' arrived in our mailbox a few days ago, and it took me that long to work up a desire to watch it. There's something about a period piece starring Angelina Jolie as a hysterical, not-without-my-baby Mother that just screams into my ear, 'OSCAR BAIT!!!'

I tend to be biased against those kinds of movies- Benjamin Button, Atonement, Memoirs of a Geisha...each fine movies, but I can't imagine that they were a labor of love the way a movie ought to be. When I watch any of those (and dozens of others...more every year, it seems) movies, I have a hard time seeing past the sweeping scores, the exquisite costumes, the method acting, and the clear metaphor to a good movie. All I see are the already-written acceptance speeches and inevitable critical acclaim written on the DVD cover.

That's the right word, now that I think of it.

Inevitable.

Movies like that seem to tell you that you're not allowed to dislike them. 'Can't you see what a fine job these actors are doing? Didn't you look at who wrote this? It can't miss! We scientifically engineered it to be the best picture of the year!'

And all too often, it works. Crash beat Capote. Forrest Gump beat Pulp Fiction. Looking back, I wonder how many Best Picture winners really stand the test of time.

So, on that subject, we watched 'Changeling.' And about 3/4 of the way through, Mandy turned to me and asked, 'How was this movie not given more attention? Why did Slumdog even get nominated when this movie was out at the same time?'

And she's right.

We've seen four of the five 2008 nominees,
including Slumdog, and even before watching 'Changeling,' I didn't understand all the fuss. Milk was great. Benjamin Button goes on the list of movies that tried too hard. Frost/Nixon was perfect, and may still get my vote (of the nominated films) for Best Picture, 2008. Changeling was at least as good as Frost/Nixon, and still, Slumdog won.

Did the academy not watch Danny Boyle's 'Millions'? They clearly didn't, because then they would have known exactly what his best work looked like, and told him to try harder, better luck next year.

So. 'Changeling.' Good movie. Check it out.