I have a general disdain for awards shows. I don't care what celebrities are wearing to draw attention to themselves and away from more deserving entities. I'm not big on production numbers nor the comedy stylings of Bruce Vilanch. I don't really care which actor or actress wins a statuette.
That being said, this is a prediction of what I think will win the best picture award, but what I think SHOULD win the best picture. I say this because I know that the academy voters have passed on nominated movies such as Fargo and Pulp Fiction to give the best picture to lesser, weaker, stupider movies.
And, this year, with the academy nominating ten pictures instead of the usual five, I feel very good that I have actually seen over half the nominated films. Most years, I'm lucky to see one.
Avatar-This movie was groundbreaking in the visual effects department. But a Snickers bar on a silver platter is still a Snickers bar. Besides the predictability of the plot line and the stock cliche characters, it wasn't even that good of a story. I don't think it will win, and I don't think it should, either.
The Blind Side-This is one of those weepy feel-good movies. Usually they win, because Hollywood likes being manipulated as much as the rest of the people. I haven't seen it, because I'm not a fan of sports movies or Sandra Bullock. And I don't think it should win.
District 9-I liked this picture. It's visual effects could and plot line should have taught James Cameron that money and technology isn't everything. But as much as I liked it, I don't think it was the best picture I've seen this year. Or last year.
An Education-Another British period piece costume drama. Usually these win. I haven't seen it. And even if it does pull an upset, I don't think I ever would.
The Hurt Locker-I'm not too fond of propaganda pieces. At least Katherine Bigelow's ex-husband had the sense to make the occupying force the bad guys and the insurgency the good guys. It was a compelling piece of work, still, not the best film I saw last year.
Inglorious Basterds-Quentin Tarantino has made a lot of good movies. Some of them have been nominated for Oscars and lost to lesser films. I found this film to have too many slow and dull parts for me. Still, if it pulled an upset, I wouldn't be.
Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire-Boy, there's mouthful in a title. Couldn't just call it Push or Precious, could they? There are some movies I wouldn't mind seeing win, just to insure that the Sandra Bullock movie doesn't. I haven't seen this one, but if it does win, I might feel compelled to check it out at sometime, but a lot of it seems like what I live around everyday.
A Serious Man-The Coen Brothers. Someday, this will rank up there with their other cult classics like Fargo, The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou, and my all time favorite Miller's Crossing. (No Country For Old Men being somewhat of an anomaly as it's based on outside work)Still, as big of a Coen Bros fan as I am, I cannot say this was the best picture I saw that was produced last year.
UP-The people at Pixar know what they're doing. They have yet to make a truly awful movie, which is made more amazing since they have become part of Disney. This is almost a shoo-in to win Best Animated Feature, but really, most of Avatar is as computer generated as this movie, but this has a better storyline. It has the best score of any of the movies I've seen, and it has the most heart. It's not maudlin like some Sandra Bullock weeper, it's not as manipulative either. In short, it is the best picture that I saw last year, and if this were a perfect world (and if it were, I'm sure I would find some minuscule fault with it), Up would win the Oscar for best picture.
Up In The Air-The only movie on this list that I haven't seen, but, win or lose, would still wish to, it seems like a movie I might enjoy. The trailer looked good, but so did the trailer for The Men Who Stare At Goats, which I did see, but did not get nominated for an award. And it's theme of corporate downsizing is timely as well. As sure as I am of it being a good movie, I am sure that UP is better.
So there you are. I'm sure many people will disagree with about UP, but, hey, that's why we have a comments section. What are your picks? Or do you care less about this than I?
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1 comment:
I haven't seen any of those movies yet. I'll get to them eventually. My NetFlix queue is already a mile long.
I am, however, one of five people in the universe who saw the original Inglorious Bastards in the late '70s. It was very little-known; it probably went directly to cable TV. I don't even like WWII movies but that movie rocked. I'm looking forward to seeing Tarantino's version.
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