In Contention

Tag: The Wrestler

  • Runnin’ on empty: the best films of 2008

    Javier Bardem and Rebecca Hall in Vicky Cristina BarcelonaJust to say it once more, because I’ve certainly brought it up enough, 2008 was not a good year for film-goers.

    That’s an incredibly subjective quip, of course, but I certainly found myself struggling with the level of quality on display with each and every screening, the oasis of the Oscar season ultimately proving to be a trickster mirage on the horizon as contenders ultimately fell flat or disappointed in various ways. And suddenly, we’re two weeks away from 2009.

    Who let the goods out?

    But a year lacking broad quality can be a fun “Where’s Waldo” for the impassioned film lover, and so it is that I found some truly wonderful, praise-worthy work from a number of driven and creative filmmakers this year. But a peculiarity began to arise as I sifted through the year’s offerings: What a load of downer cinema.

    I first noticed it in the documentary offerings, heavier on morose subject matter than any other year I can remember. Depictions of the horrors of Katrina, the passionate life and tragic death of a Neil Diamond impersonator, the work of a journalist obsessed with his own inevitable suicide, the nation’s stance on the death penalty, the life and times of a child molester, a heart-breaking family drama in St. John’s, Newfoundland, a national economy on life support, despicable soldier etiquette at our global detention facilities -– it is hardly surprising that the most well-received documentary of the year is a celebration of an “artistic crime” in James Marsh’s “Man on Wire.” But how odd that the genre’s resident cynic, Werner Herzog, was responsible for one of the few other positive doc titles that made the rounds this year?

    Moving into the realm of fiction, even the usually jubilant folks at Pixar couldn’t help but crank out their most sobering film to date, a cautionary tale wrapped in the guise of a love story that conveyed a creepy sense of inevitability despite a hopeful denouement.

    I bring these observations up for a reason, and that is to add some perspective to the list you’ll find below. 2008 was a bellwether for me personally as I began to let the idea of “best” as a definitive slip away and become something more akin to a solid if flexible representation of the times, and how those times affect the viewer.

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  • AFI list a blend of commercial and independent cinema

    Paramount Pictures' Iron ManThe American Film Institute has unveiled its schizophrenic list of the top 10 films of the year, and it’s a strangely delightful mixture of populist choices and more fringe contenders.

    The appearance of “Iron Man” is as interesting as “Wendy and Lucy” popping up, but I don’t think this collective will do much to help any of the films within.  Just another fun list of the year’s best.  (Speaking of which, be sure to tune in tomorrow for my own list of same.  Like how I turned that into a plug?)

    Not sure why “Slumdog Millionaire” was snubbed.  Is it considered an American production?  Anyway, here’s the list:

    “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
    “The Dark Knight”
    “Frost/Nixon”
    “Frozen River”
    “Gran Torino”
    “Iron Man”
    “Milk”
    “WALL-E”
    “Wendy and Lucy”
    “The Wrestler”

  • ‘Slumdog,’ ‘WALL-E’ tie for top honors with Beantown critics

    Two ties from the Boston crowd, actually.  In big categories.  Have some balls.  Take a stand.  Anyway, Sally Hawkins gets yet another boost, while “Man on Wire” remains the only (boringly) undefeated contender so far.

    Here’s the list:

    Best Picture: (tie) “Slumdog Millionaire” and “WALL-E”
    Best Director: Gus Van Sant, “Milk,” “Paranoid Park”
    Best Actor: (tie) Sean Penn, “Milk” and Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler”
    Best Actress: Sally Hawkins, “Happy-Go-Lucky”
    Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”
    Best Supporting Actress: Penélope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
    Best Screenplay: “Milk”
    Best Cinematography: “Paranoid Park”
    Best Documentary: “Man on Wire”
    Best Foreign-Language Film: “Let the Right One In”
    Best Animatd Film: “WALL-E”
    Best Film Editing: “Slumdog Millionaire”
    Best New Filmmaker: Martin McDonough, “In Bruges”
    Best Ensemble Cast: “Tropic Thunder”

  • Sean Penn on course for Oscar #2, and he deserves it

    Sean Penn in MilkWith two of the major critics awards won, actor Sean Penn seems to be headed for his second Academy Award for Best Actor for his brilliant work in “Milk.”

    Penn’s work through the 1980s and 1990s defined him as one of the greatest actors of his generation (if not the best) and certainly on the level with Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson and early Robert De Niro.  I find it incredible to see him today in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” and try to connect that actor and character to anything he has done in his career. It gives a very clear example of his seemingly limitless range.

    His first Oscar nod came for “Dead Man Walking” in 1995, with only the Independent Spirit Awards giving him the grand prize.  All the others went with Nicolas Cage in “Leaving Las Vegas,” a great performance to be sure, but for my money Penn was stronger. Four years later he was something of a surprise nominee for “Sweet and Lowdown,” a fine piece of acting, but a kind of out-of-nowhere nomination, as was his third nod for “I Am Sam,” which I still struggle with watching; it represents the only time I can “see” Penn acting.

    “Mystic River” won him his first and only Oscar, and I stand by it as a stunning example of the craft.  I agree with The New York Times, which declared it one of the great acting performances of all time. Bill Murray was a popular choice that year for “Lost in Translation” and no argument, he would have been a most worthy winner.  But I am pleased Penn won. For me, he captured the anger and rage of the character, as well as the disappointment and hurt over something so precious as a daughter, now lost. There was shame in his eyes for not having protected her, and to make up for that in his mind, he avenges her.

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  • Globe cheers, jeers and predictions

    As ever, this morning’s Golden Globe announcement provided a mixed bag of talking points, with some pleasantly zany curveballs at one end of the scale, and a couple of yawnsome autopilot nominees at the other. Like most awards bodies, they’re never going to get it completely right: for every inspired inclusion or omission there’s an equally perplexing one. (Ralph Fiennes for “The Duchess,” anyone?)

    But looking at the nominees from a bargaining perspective — tempering, for example, my disappointment that Richard Jenkins didn’t make the Best Actor cut with the knowledge that Clint Eastwood didn’t either — I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m happier with them than I expected to be.

    With that in mind, I offer below a couple of my own personal highlights and low points of the nominee list (though, given that I haven’t seen “Milk” yet, I’m leaving off that heated topic), followed by some way-too-early, subject-to-change predictions. Feel free to supply your own.

    THE GOOD

    Comedy rules: The comedy/musical categories are usually a dumping ground for filler nominees in less-than-memorable mainstream products, and previously expressed fear that this year, given the lack of high-profile contenders, they could make some really desperate stretches this year. Happily, the HFPA showed genuine resourcefulness by dipping into indie waters to celebrate the oddball wonders of “Happy-Go-Lucky” and “In Bruges,” while singling out the superb, less-discussed likes of Rebecca Hall and Brendan Gleeson for recognition. With classy, intimate works like “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” and “Last Chance Harvey” joining the mix, the resulting set of nominees is, dare I say it, considerably fresher than their dramatic counterparts. How often can you say that?

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  • ‘Rachel,’ ‘The Wrestler’ were close; Cruz, Hawkins sit pretty

    Mickey Rourke in The WrestlerAs I suspected, “Rachel Getting Married” and “The Wrestler” were right in the thick of today’s NYFCC voting.  As he does annually, Tom O’Neil runs down the inside scoop on the particulars of the vote.  He gets his info from the New York Post’s Lou Lumenick.

    Apparently “Rachel” was nipping at the heels of “Milk” for Best Picture, while Mickey Rourke came in a relatively close second for Best Actor honors in “The Wrestler.”   Robert Seigel’s script for the latter was also in the conversation, landing in third place.  It’s nice to see Kate Winslet was also in the running for Best Actress (for “Revolutionary Road”), albeit in fourth place.

    The only mentions for “The Dark Knight” were a second place showing for Heath Ledger and a third place showing for Best Cinematography, while the only landslide win looks to have been “Man on Wire” for Best Documentary, 20 points ahead of “Waltz with Bashir.”

    Entertainment Weekly’s Dave Karger, meanwhile, shrewdly points out that “in the last seven years, 11 actors have been recognized by both organizations (LAFCA and NYFCC) and all 11 eleven went on to score Oscar nominations as well.”  The peculiarity bodes well for Penelope Cruz and Sally Hawkins, Karger says, and I’m inclined to agree.

  • Waiting on the Gotham crowd

    NYFCCAlright, so last year, the NYFCC announcement came down close to 10:00 a.m. PST, so I expect in the next few hours we’ll have some answers.  You can check on the group’s official site to watch the winners clock in as announced (unless something changes this year), but for now, I’ll wager a couple of guesses.

    The way the New York critics vote, with various in-fighting and films left standing eventually crowned victor (which leads to weird Best Picture choices like “United 93” and “Out of Sight”), this group can be an erratic one to predict.  I’m not sensing a “Slumdog” victory or major love for “Milk,” but I think this is the place where, say, “Rachel Getting Married” or even “The Visitor” can claim a piece of the critics awards pie.

    That said, I’m going to guess way out on the fringe and say “The Wrestler,” with a win for Mickey Rourke to accompany it.  Maybe Aronofsky can even slide in for Best Director, or perhaps that’s where Jonathan Demme will get his precursor due.  For actress, I anticipate Anne Hathaway, but a win for Melissa Leo or Kristin Scott Thomas wouldn’t surprise me either.

    Anyway, take a crack at it and give us your NYFCC predictions below.

  • OFF THE CARPET: Finding a happy place

    Mickey Rourke in The WrestlerI’m reaching that sweet spot of the Oscar season.  That moment right on the cusp of major precursor announcements when critics and audiences begin to join a conversation that’s been talked in circles by us pundits for a few months.  The vacuum is slipping away and the clarity of perspective shines through.

    Yeah, I can admit it.  When it’s one or two guys out in front of Oscar contenders, bandying about their potential, it’s really just hot air until we come to this point of the year.  I gave up the idea of “formula” long ago, even if there are a precious few who still cling to that “analyst” role as something of substance.  It’s not, really, and we’re reminded of that each and every December.

    That having been said, I certainly couldn’t sit here and tell you the announcements of the National Board of Review, the scattered critical kudos and a few top 10 lists have drastically altered the game.  And when the Los Angeles and New York critics chime in later this week, I don’t anticipate much in the way of a revelation then either.  It’s just the way this year has turned out, leaving me wondering what more I can say in this space as we wind the year down.  So I thought I’d turn to the words of those of us who’ve been in the game longer than the rest, before the Oscar season became such an industry and when many of us had less of a clue than we do now, but paradoxically, had the perspective of removed innocence to show the way.

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  • D.C. critics chime in, ‘Slumdog’ reigns

    Rubiana Ali in Slumdog MillionaireI was totally out to lunch on this today.  “Slumdog Millionaire” continues to dominate while Heath Ledger wins his second award (after that AFI gong earlier in the week).  “Doubt” pulls down another ensemble win while truly astounding group performances from films such as “Synecdoche, New York,” “Gomorrah” and, indeed, “Slumdog Millionaire” continue to be ignored.  And Mickey Rourke picks up his first critics’ citation.

    The winners:

    Best Film: “Slumdog Millionaire”
    Best Director: Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”
    Best Actor: Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler”
    Best Actress: Meryl Streep, “Doubt”
    Best Ensemble: “Doubt”
    Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”
    Best Supporting Actress: Rosemarie DeWitt, “Rachel Getting Married”
    Best Breakthrough Performance: Dev Patel, “Slumdog Millionaire”
    Best Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy, “Slumdog Millionaire”
    Best Original Screenplay: Jenny Lumet, “Rachel Getting Married”
    Best Animated Feature: “WALL-E”
    Best Foreign Language Film: “Let The Right One In”
    Best Documentary: “Man On Wire”
    Best Art Direction: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

    Sasha Stone has some historical perspective over at Awards Daily.

  • Great shot

    (from left) Mickey Rourke and Darren Aronofsky on the set of The Wrestler

  • Will ‘The Wrestler’ bring The Boss a second Oscar?

    Bruce SpringsteenIt’s been 13 years since Bruce Springsteen was nominated for an Oscar (1995 for the title track to Tim Robbins’s “Dead Man Walking”) and two more since he’s taken the award home (1993 for “Streets of Philadelphia”).  With little in the way of competition beyond songs like “Rock Me Sexy Jesus” from “Hamlet 2” and the “High School Musical 3” soundtrack (okay, Peter Gabriel’s “Down to Earth” from “WALL-E” is a definite threat), the question becomes, Will The Boss win statuette number two?

    I’m thinking it’s a great possibility, especially when you consider the story behind the track.  As Mickey Rourke has been telling journalists who’ll listen, and as he said to me during our interview last month, the actor sat down to write Springsteen a letter after falling out of ouch for over a decade.  Springsteen took a look at the film and went to work on a blue-collar track to go along with the story, all the while director Darren Aronofsky not fully grasping how big a deal that was.

    Aronofsky wasn’t a big Boss fan and didn’t really get the connection the performer has with his fans until Rourke took him to a concert and Aronofsky finally got it.  “Hey, they really like this guy,” he told Mickey.  Nothing like a little innocence to go along with Aronofsky’s undeniable intellect.

    Anyway, Springsteen said he wanted to do the song for Rourke because he wanted to help the actor get back up on his feet after a crashed-and-burned career.  It was touching for Rourke, no matter whether jaded journalists want to question his sincerity.

    Yesterday Fox Searchlight sent out the musical particulars of theire films “Slumdog Millionaire” and “The Wrestler,” including original scores by A.R. Rahman and Clint Mansell respectively.  Also in the mix were the original tunes “Jaiho” from “Slumdog” and, of course, “The Wrestler.”  But this version was much more souped up than the original version you hear over the credits of the film.  Indeed, it takes on an epic scope, manifying the impact of the film in your mind (have a listen to the new version here or at the bottom of the post).

    Anyway, I think it’s clear this race will be between Gabriel and Springsteen, two legends throughout the generations.  At the end of the day, could Springsteen walk away with that second Oscar bookend? Listen to the new version and decide for yourself:

    [display_podcast]

  • Fox Searchlight double-bills two classics with ‘The Wrestler’

    Fox Searchlight Pictures' The WrestlerFox Searchlight Pictures will be screening its awards season favorite “The Wrestler” in tandem with two classics of American cinema next week: Elia Kazan’s “On the Waterfront” and Martin Scorsese’s “Raging Bull.”  The event, to be held at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica, has been dubbed: “Contenders: A Look at Film Heavyweights.”

    Each film, with their esteemed blue collar performances from Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro respectively, has popped up in Q&A sessions during screenings for Aronofsky’s film, a Searchlight spokesman said.  The screenings will take place on Monday, December 8 and Tuesday, December 9.

    “I look at those films and I stand in awe of them,” Aronofsky told me yesterday.  “You can’t take your eyes off them.  They are mentor films to ‘The Wrestler’ in a way” and they contain “untouchable, iconic performances.”

    Aronofsky says both “On the Waterfront” and “Raging Bull” have always been an inspiration.  He studied both in film school, in fact.  But beyond that, it is hardly surprising that parallels might be drawn between these two classics and Aronofsky’s film; actor Mickey Rourke’s performance has been singled out as an “amazing tour-de-force” by the Los Angeles Times’ Patrick Goldstein.  Variety’s Todd McCarthy, meanwhile, wrote that Rourke’s work “instantly takes its place among the great, iconic screen performances.”  And so it will again next week.

    “My favorite part of the process is working with the actors,” Aronofsky said.  “It reminds me that the only true time we get to be artists is between ‘action’ and ‘cut.’  And every day, Mickey gave me a new gift.  Watching him work is amazing and the honesty he brought is reminiscent of those films, I think.”

    The first double-bill will start at 6:30 p.m. Monday evening with “On the Waterfront.”  “The Wrestler” will follow at 8:00 p.m.  Tuesday, Aronofsky’s film will show at 6:00 p.m. and “Raging Bull” will close the evening, and the two-day event, at 8:00 p.m.

  • ‘Ballast,’ ‘River,’ ‘Rachel’ lead the Indie Spirit nods

    James Franco in MilkI’m late to the table on today’s Independent Spirit Award nominations because I’ve been toiling away on the latest Oscar column (which should be up shortly).  Obviously, Sony Pictures Classics dominated the scene but I’m glad to see that this year’s crop is more “independent” than in years past.

    One nomination that stuck out to me was James Franco in the supporting actor category for “Milk” (a film good enough for four nominations but not for Best Picture — explain that to me).  Early on the idea was that Josh Brolin’s foil character Dan White would be the better bid for the category at the Oscars.  Then word came that James Franco was the heartbeat of the piece and likely a better fit.  Finally, the film landed and I was not alone in thinking Brolin hit his performance out of the park.  Now this, so who knows?  I still get the feeling Emile Hirsch is lurking in the wings waiting for a surprise, maybe with SAG or even Oscar, but that’s a difficult trio of supporting contenders to work through at the moment.

    I get the feeling this year’s Indie Spirits will be dominated by “The Wrestler” and “Rachel Getting Married,” maybe some love for “Frozen River” here and there.  I’m happy to see “Synecdoche, New York” land the Robert Altman Award (which always seems to go to a highly deserving crew), and I’ll certainly be pulling for Harris Savides yet again in the cinematography category.

    The nominations:

    Best Feature
    “Rachel Getting Married” (Neda Armian, Jonathan Demme, Marc Platt)
    “The Wrestler” (Darren Aronofsky, Scott Franklin)
    “Wendy and Lucy” (Larry Fessenden, Neil Kopp, Anish Savjani)
    “Ballast” (Lance Hammer, Nina Parikh)
    “Frozen River” (Chip Hourihan, Heather Rae)

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  • NYT gets down with ‘The Wrestler’

    The New York Times has been a veritable piñata of goodies these past few days. In addition to the return of the Carpetbagger, they are treating us with a double-shot of “Wrestler”-related interviews, one with relative newbie screenwriter Robert D. Siegel, and of course, a massive profile of man-of-the-hour Mickey Rourke.

    I’m not sure what it is about Rourke, but he clearly brings out the best in journalists. His interview with Kris was, I think, one of the most inspired to have graced these pages, and this vast NYT piece follows suit. With none of the affectations that often come with overly PR-directed interviews, he exhibits the kind of open, candid sense of self that can only come with having got both the sweet and the fuzzy ends of the lollipop in his career; he’s one of the few movie stars around today who not only has interesting stories to tell, but is actually willing and able to tell them.

    As usual, this one’s full of nice incidental tidbits, whether he’s admitting that “Harley Davidson and the Motorcycle Man” is the only film he regrets making (really? So “Wild Orchid” was okay, then?), or offering sage advice on dog-parenting. (On being told that peanut butter and bacon isn’t really a suitable diet for his beloved pug Loki, he shoots, “She’s sixteen years old … she can have whatever she wants.”)

    But the meat of the interview comes when he confronts his own career collapse, rationalising it in a surprisingly lucid and moving way:

    I resented all the money and what came with it, the way people treated me in a special way. I didn’t know how to play the game. Nobody told me it was a business. I thought my acting talent transcended the business of films. I never had a game plan for my career. I didn’t have the tools for that. If I would have been educated enough, I might have avoided a lot of pain. So I became arrogant and self-destructive. I fought everyone ’cause I thought that was a kind of strength, but it became my weakness.

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  • Karger narrows it to eight

    For this week’s edition of Entertainment Weekly, Dave Karger has boiled down the Best Picture race to a mere eight horses. The no-surprises list reads as follows:

    1. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
    2. “Slumdog Millionaire”
    3. “Frost/Nixon”
    4. “Revolutionary Road”
    5. “Doubt”
    6. “Milk”
    7. “The Dark Knight”
    8. “Australia”

    Nothing much to comment on, really. Karger remarks that, in the wake of “Milk”‘s rapturous critical reception, he would now move it further up the chart. Meanwhile, he considers dropping “Australia,” presumably in favour of one of his runners-up, “The Reader” or “Gran Torino.”

    However you shake it, though, it still makes for a pretty yawnsome list of the usual suspects. He’s probably right, of course. But is it too late to jazz up the competition with a fresh contender? “The Wrestler?” “Happy-Go-Lucky?” Hell, I’ll settle for “WALL-E” at this point. Go on, Academy, surprise us. Please.

  • First set of winner predictions

    Clint Eastwood in Gran TorinoBefore the holiday I thought I’d make my first calls on the year’s Oscar winners.  Bear in mind we don’t even have a list of nominees yet and anything can happen.  I think around this time last year I was predicting “Into the Wild” for across-the-board wins and it only managed two nominations at the end of the day, so, grain of salt and all that.  I just like to go on the record around this time, so here we go:

    Best Picture: “Slumdog Millionaire”
    Best Director: Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”
    Best Actor: Clint Eastwood, “Gran Torino”
    Best Actress: Cate Blanchett, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
    Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”
    Best Supporting Actress: Viola Davis, “Doubt”
    Best Adapted Screenplay: “Slumdog Millionaire”
    Best Original Screenplay: “Milk”
    Best Art Direction: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
    Best Cinematography: “Defiance”
    Best Costume Design: “The Duchess”
    Best Film Editing: “Slumdog Millionaire”
    Best Makeup: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
    Best Music – Original Score: “Defiance”
    Best Music – Original Song: “The Wrestler”
    Best Sound Editing: “The Dark Knight”
    Best Sound Mixing: “The Dark Knight”
    Best Visual Effects: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
    Best Animated Feature Film: “WALL-E”
    Best Documentary Feature: “Man on Wire”
    Best Foreign Language Film: “Captain Abu Raed”

  • Narrowing it down

    Over at Awards Daily, Sasha Stone has taken it upon herself to whittle down the Best Picture race to a brisk 11-title list, and it makes for sobering reading:

    “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
    “The Dark Knight”
    “Doubt”
    “Frost/Nixon”
    “Gran Torino”
    “Milk”
    “Rachel Getting Married”
    “The Reader”
    “Revolutionary Road”
    “Slumdog Millionaire”
    “The Wrestler”

    I can’t be the only person looking down that list and gloomily wondering, “Is that it?” (I suppose some might argue for “Australia” still, but even the positive early reviews don’t give me a great feeling.) Sadly, not only is Stone probably right, but she’s still being relatively generous — I would strike “Rachel Getting Married” off the list without too much hesitation. Meanwhile, the level of hype centering on Clint Eastwood’s Best Actor campaign for “Gran Torino” has me wondering whether those who have seen it don’t deem it Best Picture material. (I remain among those unpersuaded by the film’s trailer.)

    It seems to me that “Doubt”‘s chances of a Best Picture nomination depend entirely on how much award steam it gathers in the acting races, while “The Reader” remains a puzzle to me — it has the right credentials, the trailer looks solid, but why don’t I sense more excitement around it? Harvey Weinstein is still struggling to regain his golden touch at the Oscars, and it remains to be seen whether that early bout of bad press over the film’s release-date kerfuffle will linger.

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: Big guns unveiled, docs shortlisted, Saviano speaks

    A big week, this, in which the covers were finally lifted off some heavyweight titles. Here’s what we were talking about:

    • And speaking of those heavyweights, Kris ran hot on “Revolutionary Road,” but cool on “Australia” …

    • … while being offered a frustratingly truncated glimpse of “Benjamin Button.”

    • The Academy announced their 15-strong shortlist for Best Documentary Feature, and emerged with credibility largely intact, in my opinion.

    • We were fortunate enough to chat to the incredible Roberto Saviano of “Gomorrah” fame…

    • … as well as the charming Rosemarie DeWitt, our pick of the “Rachel Getting Married” ensemble.

    • Roger Ebert either picked the brain of an Academy insider, or made some bold predictions of his own. Interesting either way.

    • This week’s Off the Carpet column played the waiting game.

    • Tech Support got musical this week, with a look at the composers in the hunt for gold this year.

    • We examined the horses (or lack thereof) in the Comedy/Musical races at the Golden Globes.

    • This week’s edition of The Lists delved into the embarrassment of cinematic riches that was the 1970s.

    • “The Wrestler” finally got a poster and an impressive trailer.

    • We contemplated next year’s BAFTA awards, wondering whether homegrown winners will again dominate proceedings.

    • The Best Picture debate over “The Dark Knight” continues apace.