I promise I haven’t watched the Oscars yet so I have no idea who won, but I’m FINALLY posting my thoughts on this year’s 10 nominees for Best Motion Picture. It should be interesting to see if I’m totally off (or not) on my assessment.
So…most of you know about my goal of watching all Academy Award nominees for Best Motion Picture of the Year (every year since I was born). This year, a whopping 10 nominees have been put forth. I finished watching the last one last week and here are my thoughts. (I have a lot of opinions about the nominees for all categories this year, so perhaps I’ll share that post-Awards.) Here we go…in alpha order…
Black Swan
Truly, truly a BEAUTIFUL movie. When I saw it, I had no idea what it was about other than Natalie Portman, ballet and it’s a “psychological thriller.” With my lack of expectations – and my guard down – I was really surprised by all the things this movie included. The love, lust, drugs, psychology; everything was balanced and beautiful, yet so tragic. But this is me analyzing the film months after seeing it. Do not get me wrong, at the time, I kept screaming, “WTF am I watching?!?” while I was in the theatre…inside my head of course. I thought Kathy Bates’ performance in “Misery” was psychotic; Natalie Portman nailed it. SO CREEPY.
Overall, the costumes and constant play on one-foot-in-reality-and-one-foot-in-make-believe elevated this movie beyond being another movie about ballet.
CONCLUSION (spoiler alert): As Natalie Portman’s character spirals further into her persecutory thoughts and delusions, we unknowingly spiral with her and are left almost as motionless as she is in the end. Strong nominee, but not the winner.
The Fighter
This movie that told Micky Ward’s story of failure and glory – and the hot mess in between – was really well-paced, balanced, and moving. That is, it wasn’t too fast or too slow, it didn’t overwhelm me and didn’t try to do the zoom-in to over the ear or watch it from Micky’s perspective ‘artistic’ camera shots, and was emotionally stirring. I am not the biggest boxing fan. I watch Pacquiao fights because it’s usually guaranteed he’s not going to end up all bloody and gross. Not so for Micky Ward. I admittedly couldn’t stand watching him get pummeled most of the time. But for me, it was the stuff in between the fighting that was most interesting. The family dynamic, the drugs, the power struggle, the ‘love story’ – everything was well portrayed/acted and honest. I appreciate that.
CONCLUSION: The movie follows a whirlwind of activity in the Ward family and while the acting in the movie is certainly beyond worthy of nominations for other categories, this film wasn’t as strong as the other nominees for Best Picture.
Inception
Hands down one of my top 5 favorite movies of all time. Absolutely epic in my opinion. It was innovative and thought provoking. I’m a thinker, so this appealed to my need to continuously process things, and then some. Christopher Nolan is seriously ingenious. I mean, who comes up with this stuff? Not only the original screenplay, but the stretch of cinematography. I think Nolan (and cast and crew) must have had an outrageous time challenging the norm and catapulting film into a new realm. I like weird. It makes the world go around.
CONCLUSION: With all that being said, is this movie worthy of Best Motion Picture? It depends on what you’re weighing the criteria on. If you want absolute brilliant balance of all things movie – screenplay, photography, cinematography, acting, art direct, etc. – this may not be it, in my opinion. It’s heavy on one or two things and not the others. It’s a strong contender for all its other nominations (although I’m sincerely shocked it didn’t get a nod for Achievement in Directing), but not the forerunner for Best Motion Picture in my mind…or dreams.
The Kids Are All Right
Ok. Now this one. It’s like the black sheep (no jab at its competition) of Best Picture nominees. Outside of its ‘these people are your next door neighbors’ portrayal of today’s modern family headed by a gay couple, it really wasn’t totally innovative or mind-blowing in any other way. I actually think in some ways, it is sexual orientation neutral. The fact that the lead characters needed a sperm donor in order to start a family is background; the focus is never on the fact that these are two strong lesbian women leading a family, loving, failing to love, and all things in between. The focus instead is on the mess that can be raising a family and staying faithful and loving in a committed relationship. In that sense, the dialogue and screenplay is worthy of recognition. The movie brings tells a story that too many people often times ignore.
CONCLUSION: Something just didn’t sit perfectly well with me on this one. While it did break down marriage and family into its basic thoughts, motives, and themes, I think it tragically ignored an opportunity to send other messages. This is the story of just one family, I give the production team that. But maybe that’s why I’m not jumping out of my seat to give it an Oscar. I’m left looking for something more.
The King’s Speech
Say it with me: BUH.RILL.YENT. Genius. Awesome original screenplay. I love the perspective it takes and the way the audience is let inside a true story as it has never been seen/told before. Colin Firth’s performance? I mean, really, who attempts to act like a man with a debilitating stutter like that? I felt his discomfort, his shame, his pride, his heartbreak, his anger, his desperation. All of it. So clearly, I think Colin is a strong candidate for Performance by an Actor in a Lead Role. But the movie itself was equally moving – the set design and scenery was haunting and artful and the acting and movement of the story overall was so powerful.
CONCLUSION: Don’t get my speechlessness wrong (pun tragically intended), I am a dear admirer of this film. It delivered on many levels, so I would be happy if this one took it home.
127 Hours
This was the last film of the 10 nominees that I watched. Despite the buzz, I had low expectations. I knew Aron Ralston’s story. I didn’t doubt that there would be some moments of exploring Aron’s psychology and emotion as he’s trapped for more than 5 days. I’ve seen Cast Away and unlike that movie, I knew how this one would end.
With that being said, “What the beep?!?” Total shocker. The opening 3 minutes alone sold me. The brilliant and beautiful triple-split screen? The color, the saturation, the lenses and filters in that opening sequence…just STUPID (see urbandictionary definition). And the music? The opening song tipped me off, but when I saw his name – A.R. Rahman – I knew we’d be in for a musical treat. The screenplay and the artistic portrayal of what one man went through was so well done. It was beautiful and poetic to watch Aron go through all of his highs and lows: his regrets, his dreams, his hope, and even his hallucinations. Job well done writers! And don’t even get me started on James Franco. WHAT was that? James did a beyond fantastic job with his portrayal of Aron’s journey – physically, emotionally, mentally. It blows my mind to think that all of the things James portrayed were “fake”: that rock probably didn’t way a ton, he certainly was not without water for 5 days, and he most definitely did not cut his own arm off. But I BELIEVED it all. Every single thing James put down, I picked up.
CONCLUSION: This film is definitely worth all the praise. Truly. I wouldn’t be mad in the slightest if it won in any or all categories. At the time I watched it, I was dealing with a loss that left me reflecting on a lot about life. If I wasn’t already in that reflective, inspired state, I know this movie would have launched me into that. Kudos.
The Social Network
Pleasantly surprised is an understatement. People told me, “It’s a pretty good movie.” And I didn’t doubt that, but their review didn’t exactly send me storming the box office. It wasn’t until it started winning every effing accolade that I finally sat down to watch it. I did not see this one coming. At all. To me, this film shattered what we thought we knew about Facebook, or should I say, The Social Network (cheese!). Facebook is real life. My baby cousins have a Facebook. Your roommates dog or parents probably have one too. People give it up for Lent. I mean, what? Facebook owns us. So in that sense, Mark Zuckerberg owns us. And to see the story of the man who literally transformed the global society, connection, communication, reality as we know it, that was priceless. Because it wasn’t just, “I have an idea, let’s make Facebook.” Facebook was born from Mark’s human condition and his understanding of the community and the relationships around him. The journey was not as straight-forward as “Poking” someone. And while I certainly could have done with a different casting for Sean Parker, I thought it was well-acted, accessible and smart.
CONCLUSION: The Social Network was one of those movies that I walked away from thinking, “I will never look at ____ aspect of life the same ever again.” In that sense, isn’t that what film-making, what the industry, what the work and art of story-telling is all about? I understand why it won the Golden Globe. I would be only marginally disappointed if it won Motion Picture at the Academy Awards.
Toy Story 3
Not gonna lie, I cried at this one. How could you not? I grew up with Toy Story; I was 8 when the first film was released. And Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters is hands down my favorite ride at Disneyland. Huge fan of Toy Story, to be sure. BUT, I do kind of feel like we were just trying to give a shout out to animation with this nomination. Seriously, let’s dissect it. Character development: aside from Buzz’s newly discovered ‘Spanish Mode,’ I think it’s safe to say we already know who’s a got a friend in whom. Screenplay: (is that even what you call it when it’s animated?) I did think the film was going to end at like 3 different places, but I hardly consider that a triumph in writing. Art: Pixar is genius, we all know that. What else can I critique?
CONCLUSION: The film tugged at our heartstrings, we can’t deny that. But it was like making a movie about grandma – we already know we love it and it can only surprise us to some extent. I will watch this film again, I’m sure, but it is not worth a gold man for Best Motion Picture when you look at its contenders.
True Grit
I haven’t seen the original, but I knew this was a remake. I respect Westerns. I don’t mark my calendar when the next big Western is hitting the big screen (do NOT mention Cowboys and Aliens to me. That does not count as a Western), but I don’t dread them either. To me, this film was 100% about the acting. Hailee Steinfeld was captivating. I cannot believe she is only 14! The storyline was simple and the bond between Hailee’s character and Jeff Bridge’s character was ultra predictable. But I do think the Cohen brothers knocked another one out of the park, in the sense that this particular Western remake could have made a believer (or at least a respecter?) out of anyone.
CONCLUSION: I really liked this film, but there’s just something I’m not seeing. I’m not really sure why this should win over some other nominees. Honorable mention? Yes, you get one just like Inception. (By the way friends of the Academy, is this really how we’re going to do it from now on? Everyone gets a chance at the big prize? Everyone gets a 2nd place ribbon at least?)
Winter’s Bone
This movie freaked me out. John Hawkes (nominated for Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role) scared the sh** out of me. It was this eerie, unpredictable, uncertain feeling that surrounded me every time he appeared on the screen. This film took a part of America that is rarely exposed or mentioned, and put the biggest floodlight on it for all to see. I couldn’t have imagined the dirt poor, illiterate, raw lifestyle of the Ozarks. The conditions, the relationships were all mindblowing to me. I just never knew. Being exposed to this reality is what struck me the most. Jennifer Lawrence was pretty hardcore as well. The storyline was somewhat hazy; maybe I would have understood it better if I read the book. But for a small, indie film, Winter’s Bone done good.
CONCLUSION: This film deserves our respect. (Maybe more accurately, the book deserves our respect for being so real). I can see why it won at Sundance in 2010 and I understand why it truly deserves this nomination for Best Picture. For me, it joins the few elite on this list that really blew the competition out of the water. I dare you to watch this film and not be moved in the slightest way. It was just so freaking raw. I am thankful I took the time to watch this one.
And so I guess that’s my blog about this year’s nominees. I can’t wait to find out who really won! Even more so, I can’t wait to see what notable and novel films come out in 2011! :)
Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next year!
