So tonight is the night that the stars will come alive and everyone that’s been to a movie this year has an opinion and will share it with anyone…including me. This year’s Oscar’s presentation should be a good one. I plan on getting cozy on my couch and hoping that someone doesn’t ruin the night for me. Ruining the night for me would be if Winter’s Bone wins everything, which is why I’m writing this blog.
Because the Academy thought it would be wise to make the Best Picture category into 10 films from the its usual 5 means that there are going to be some stereotypical films that are only there because the Academy thinks people need to see films more. Not that their product is turning into crap or that movie theatres are now areas for stabbings over loud popcorn eating, or even if the 3D glasses make you look cooler. Think about it, how many people want to go see a movie in a theatre unless you get the effect of bumping bass, perfect picture and snack foods under $8 in your own home. The fact that a movie theatre charges so much for dollar candy and then charges more for technology that was available in the 1970’s just to get more money for the dragging movies is repulsive. Maybe theatres should think about charging less for the ticket and candy and maybe more people won’t see sitting in that theatre to watch a movie with strangers as a waste of time. But I digress. On to the show.
The categories this year are the same and the nominees are just as talented as the year before. The best film category is filled with a couple actual contenders and the rest are there for the reason of instilling the people that didn’t go the movie much last year to go out and buy or rent those movies. Don’t believe me?
Best Documentary Nominees: Exit Through the Gift Shop, Restrepo, Inside Job, Gasland, Waste Land. Now look at the list. We have a documentary about the War, a Documentary about the economy (like that hasn’t been done 10000 times already), a documentary about oil/natural gas, a documentary about a foreign land with problems, and the last one is a documentary about the underworld of street art that is unknown to many. I don’t want to sound like a prick, but don’t the documentaries about the economy, gas, and the war come up every year? I mean, hasn’t that been done enough? I’m surprised Waiting for Superman wasn’t here because apparently some of the scenes weren’t authentic. Very shocking. I liked Exit Through the Gift Shop because it was about something in the world we hardly noticed and didn’t make headlines the way the others did. Everyone knows about the economy and gas prices and dumps in foreign countries, but no one notices street art or as the police call it - Graffiti. I’m picking Exit Through the Gift Shop based on originality and the legend that Banksy has become.
Best Actor Nominees: Jeff Bridges, Javier Bardem, Jesse Eisenberg, Colin Firth, and James Franco. Two of these people have won Oscars before and been in Coen Brothers films. Eisenberg, Firth, and Franco are newcomers to the Best Actor list. Firth might take this one away just because he had to learn how to studder and emotional show it through acting. Bridges won last year and there are hardly ever any repeats. Who the hell knows what Bardem did in "Biutiful'”. Typical Art house flick with a misspelled name. Franco stood next to a rock for 90 minutes but somehow captivated audiences and Jesse Eisenberg played an Ivy Leaguer who created the most popular social networking site ever. I don’t know if Franco or Eisenberg will ever get a chance like this seeing what they do normally for acting jobs but Firth easily can take this. Postscript: I didn’t see any of these acting performances.
Best Director Nominees: David Fincher, Tom Hooper, Joel and Ethan Coen, Darren Aronofsky, David O. Russell. Biggest snub of the year is Christopher Nolan. The Coens get nominated every year! Give it a break Academy! They are the Meryll Streep’s of Directing awards. Plus there is two of them! That’s almost cheating, right? They get nominated just by their name alone. They make great movies, but come on! Fincher has made two of my favorite movies (Se7en and Fight Club), and Aronofsky and Russell are pretty much the future of movie making. I don’t know anything about Hooper. He is the Kathryn Bigelow of this year’s category. No one know anything about him and he might win.
The fact the Toy Story 3 is nominated for Best Animated Film AND Best Film is 1000% unfair and stupid. Everyone saw that movie and loved it. Why do you put it in those categories? It is taking up space in the Best Film department because Pixar is solidly making hundred million dollar movies by the day.
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo, Amy Adams, Helena Bonham Carter, Jacki Weaver, Hailee Steinfeld. Who, Who, and Who? I know Amy Adams because she is attractive and a great actress. Helena Bonham Carter is the third leg in whatever Tim Burton and Johnny Depp make together, and I didn’t know anyone else on this list. However, after seeing the Fighter I liked the way Melissa Leo played the role of the Pride of Lowell’s Mom who stood up for the wrong son all the time (the Fighter in case you didn’t see it). She got her hair all done up and looked like she was a spokesperson for the Revere Beach Diet (cocaine, cigarettes, and diet coke). It’s anyone’s seeing Meryll took the year off.
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, Geoffrey Rush, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, John Hawkes. It’s Batman. Christian Bale transformed into Dicky Eklund and stole that movie. Renner was good in The Town. I’m not sure what Mark Ruffalo did. I’m not even sure who John Hawkes is. But this is Bales. Lock it up.
Best Film: Black Swan, The Fighter, 127 Hours, Inception, The Kids Are Alright, The King’s Speech, The Social Network, True Grit, Toy Story 3, and Winter’s Bone. I’m replacing the titles with short phrases to describe how I feel about them: the sexiest movie in this category, the sports movie about overcoming the obstacles, A movie about a guy that did something and no one knows his name, The movie about lesbian moms and raising kids, The movie everyone’s talking about but no one saw, The movie everyone saw over the summer, the remake of an award winning movie, the Animated movie that did the best this year, and the Art House movie no one is expecting to see unless it wins everything.
That really is how I’m seeing this Best Film list pan out for the next 5 years. We can put a movie into categories like this and no one will have anything out of the ordinary. The Social Network was probably the best written since no one is going to doubt Sorkin or his genius. Black Swan and the Fighter are both great movies. 127 Hours is probably the movie that was the hardest to make. I already ranted about Toy Story 3. True Grit is only here because of the Coens. The King’s Speech was obviously pushed around the media by press agencies trying to attract people to it. I don’t know what to think of The Kids Are Alright. I’m guessing it’s the de facto movie about gays. Winter’s Bone is what it is.
So there we have it. I didn’t really make picks, I just made some remarks about the categories and what kind of movies happened this year. Enjoy the show everyone!
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