Ranking the Oscar Best Picture Nominees.

With the Oscars a little more than a week away I thought I'd share my thoughts on the 10 nominees for Best Picture. This year the Oscars expanded the number of nominees for best picture from 5. I'm still not sure how I feel about it. It's supposed to allow for a wider variety of films to be recognized and in that regard it succeeded. On the other hand it makes being nominated not nearly as prestigious. In the end it doesn't really matter since of the 10 nominated films I feel 9 are worthy. This list isn't a list of who I think will win or even who I think should win. It's just the order in which I personally enjoyed them the most.

10. The Blind Side

This is the only movie I have a problem with being nominated. I enjoyed the movie and Sandra Bullock is excellent in it but it's only a few steps up from a made for TV movie of the week. It just felt way too sugarcoated and easy. The race issue is touched on but glossed over pretty quickly and the football aspect is  pretty much a joke.




9. An Education

To be fair, I am nowhere near the target audience for a coming of age story of a 16 year old girl in early 1960's England. I am biased against period pieces and admittedly have problems identifying with women. Besides these points I enjoyed An Education far more than I thought I would. I thought I'd be bored to death but was pleasantly surprised by how drawn to the story I was. All the performances are excellent, specifically Alfred Molina and Carey Mulligan. I was especially surprised by Mulligan, she won my heart and I now want to find Shia LaBeouf, kick his ass and steal his girlfriend. Even with all it's got going for it my biases are just too much to overcome and it get's this spot.


8. Precious

If you're looking for the feel good movie of the year Precious is not the movie for you, unless of course you can feel good about 16 year old girls who get raped by their fathers and abused by their mothers. I have no idea how real the movie is as it's about as far from my life experiences as possible but it certainly feels real. On top of that all the performances are excellent. Gabourey Sidibe (in her film debut) turns the title character into tough yet sympathetic figure with a wide range of emotions. Mariah Carey proves she can act and Mo'Nique is a revelation. There's a reason she's going to win an Oscar, she shows a mix of rage, torment and ultimately weakness that I never would have guessed possible from her. Ultimately the film is just too dark for me to really love but it's a movie everyone should see.

7. Avatar

Avatar isn't just a movie it's a spectacle. I don't think I enjoyed it as much as a lot of the general public seemed to but it was a hell of an experience in 3D IMAX. Everybody's seen it so I'll just say that take away the fancy visual affects and you're pretty much left with Dances with Smurf Gully. The story is absolutely nothing new and the acting is nothing to write home about. Since it's now the highest grossing film of all time and the Academy has long wanted a crowd pleaser to win best picture, I think it has a great shot at taking home the Oscar but there's no way I would vote for it..


6. District 9

District 9 is the movie I feel got the most out of the switch to ten nominees This is not the type of movie that would normally be nominated for best picture. Politically based sci-fi is something that usually only gets nods in categories like effects and sound editing. The movie blends political allegory, inventive special affects and excellent action sequences into a cohesive whole. Lead actor Sharltio Copely also gives an amazing and almost entirely improvised performance. He really holds the entire film together and is far better in this than anyone was in Avatar. I was really surprised how much I liked this movie.


5. A Serious Man

 

I always enjoy a Coen Brothers film and A Serious Man is no different. It's got eccentric characters, a non traditional storyline and their usual directorial flourishes. There are no name actors present and it also has more obscure Jewish references than any movie I've ever seen. Combine these factors along with an ending that a lot of people probably find off-putting and this is not a movie for everyone. As far as the actors go Michael Stuhlbarg is great as lead character Larry Gopnik and Fred Melemed steals the show as Sy Ableman, one of the most unique villains in movie history. Since I'm partial to the Coen's this is probably higher on my list than most would have it.


4. Up

Up made me cry more than any movie I have seen in a long time. I'm not sure if the timing of when I saw it in relation to changes in my personal life had something to do with it but the first half of the movie wrecked me. I've never seen characters built up and able to elicit sympathy so well without much dialogue involved. The rest of the movie is just as amazing, with stunning visuals, a strong sense of adventure and a whole lot of heart. The only reason it's 4th on my list is because I'm biased against animated pictures but if Pixar keeps putting out movies like this (and Wall-E, Ratatoulle, etc) they're likely to eliminate that
bias permanently.


3. Inglorious Basterds

I didn't know what to think the first time I saw Inglorious Basterds. I knew it was a movie of immense vision and that Tarentino was at the top of his game when directing it. What I wasn't quite as sure of was the pacing. It felt as long as it's running time and while that's not necessarily bad I feel a truly great film should feel much shorter than it actually is. The second time I watched it that concern was totally eliminated. Not having to pay close attention to the storyline let me focus more on the characters and the directing and for me that made the movie flow better and feel quicker. There are a lot of classic characters in the movie but Christoph Waltz as Hans Landa is the clear standout. He infuses the character with so much cunning and a real sense of treachery, it's impossible to not hate him and yet be drawn to him at the same time. There is virtually no chance he doesn't win Best Supporting Actor.


2. The Hurt Locker

The Hurt Locker is easily the most intense movie of the year. It's based on characters who risk their lives constantly day in and out and it's directed to perfection by Katheryn Bigelow. The threat of danger the characters face comes not only from their jobs as bomb diffusers but from the possibility of insurgency at all times. The editing is top notch as well, so much depends on the specific timing of shots and the editors do an amazing job of putting it all together in a way that's easily understandable and visually exciting. In lesser hands this movie could have been a giant mess. Jeremy Renner is fantastic as well as the lead character. He conveys a great sense of (over)confidence and really portrays a man who doesn't know how to do anything else fantastically. I think this will win Best Picture and Best Director.


1. Up in the Air

 This was the last of the 10 movies I saw and maybe that's why I put it at the top but I really loved it. It's a great mix of lighthearted comedy, poignant drama, character study and social commentary. It's gotta be nearly impossible to balance all that and make a movie that's not a complete mess but director/co-writer Jason Reitman pulls it off. The first half focuses on comedy and the second on drama but there's still enough of both in each half for everyone. There are 3 acting nominations involved and all 3 are very deserved. Clooney gives perhaps his best performance ever. He makes a character who's job is to basically ruin peoples lives extremely likeable. He also makes the character identifiable even though he lives his life differently than anyone I've ever met. I never thought much of Vera Farmiga (The Departed, Running Scared) as an actress but she shows a much greater range here than in anything else I've seen her in. Relative newcomer Anna Kendrick is great as well as a young idealistic mentee (is that even a word?) who get's more than she bargained for. There are a lot of familiar faces that round out the cast and everyone is believable, from bit parts to higher profile roles. If I had a vote for Best Picture this would be my choice, it's a fantastic movie.