REVIEW: The 2010 Best Picture Nominations

As we all know, the Academy Awards is the biggest night of the year for those in the film industry, where the best movies of the year go head to head in competition for an elusive Oscar, film's most prized award. This year is also a special year, as the Academy has decided for the first time in over 60 years, to return to its roots of featuring 10 Best Picture Nominations, rather than the now traditional 5. This is an attempt to keep people watching, allowing a few of the 10 sought after spots to go to more commercially popular films, rather than filling every spot with brilliant, albeit smaller independent films that fewer people had a chance to see. After last year's heavy oversight of not recognizing Christopher Nolan's masterpiece, The Dark Knight, as a Best Picture candidate, the Academy has decided that it may be ready to see some high-budget blockbusters throwing punches in the ring for movie of the year. That being said, I have found the time to take in every single Best Picture nominee for this year, and now have the opportunity to share my thoughts on each one with you. So, readers I give you the Best Picture nominations for 2010...

Avatar

There are few movies that are able to do what James Cameron's 13-year work-in-progress has done, the biggest of those being that it was able to live up to the hype surrounding it. Many people, myself included, maintained their skepticism while TV spots and trailers for Avatar continually boasted that "Movies will never be the same," and while excited for the movie, I found myself turned off by James Cameron's blatant media showmanship. But after my first of three adventures to Pandora, I knew that I had to tip my hat to Mr. Cameron, because had, well, done it. Avatar itself is an incredibly visceral, imaginative experience, contained within a truly living, breathing world, in which every plant, animal, and person was personally designed by Cameron. While the story is a complete rip off of Pocahontas, Dances with Wolves, and Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest, it finds a way to be original in its retelling of these established stories, and despite fairly lame dialogue, and Sam Worthington's slight inability to deliver all of his lines without his American accent going out, Avatar is a brilliant movie that has set the bar at a new height, characteristic of many of Cameron's films. Stunning visuals, beautiful music, and the now standard of 3D film making, Avatar blew people away, and this most expensive movie ever made, also overtook its older brother, Titanic, as the Top-Grossing Film of all time. All this being said, I absolutely loved Avatar, and I feel like it has earned its spot in this group, but I don't feel it deserves Best Picture.

My Review: A-

The Blind Side

I will not hide the fact that I would not have seen this film had it not been nominated for Best Picture, but this is exactly what the Academy was going for when they made room for popular choices. The Blind Side is a formulaic, safe, inspirational sports movie reminiscent of "Remember the Titans" and "Miracle," and with that said, it doesn't really bring anything new to the table. I did enjoy this movie much more than I thought I would, but it didn't overwhelm me and cause me to rethink my position on the film. I think of all the nominees this year, The Blind Side is least deserving of its spot on the list, but it will probably draw more people who wouldn't normally watch the Oscars on March 7th, to find time to turn on their TVs and see if Blind Side can take home the top prize. The true story of Michael Oher, an underprivileged black youth who, with the help of a driven, never-say-die interior decorator named Leigh Anne Tuohy, is able to achieve his full potential, graduate high school, attend college, and claim a spot as an offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens football team. While I do give this movie some credit, I have my qualms with it as well. My biggest complaint about this film is its inability to effectively tell the story from any perspective other than Sandra Bullock's portrayal of Tuohy. While Sandra Bullock does a good job playing her part, a role that I personally believe was not terribly difficult to play, aggressive woman with designer bags, it was Michael's personal struggle that I wanted to see more of, rather than Tuohy's manipulation of Michael and his circumstances. While this movie will most likely net Bullock her first Oscar, I will view it as a hollow victory, one that was more forced upon the Academy to grant, rather than earned with a brilliant performance. As an afterthought to that, I do give Sandra Bullock heavy credit for powering this movie forward into the spot of "Top-Grossing Film of All-Time with a Female Lead."

My Review: B

District 9

This Peter Jackson-produced, and Neil Blomkamp-directed film is another science-fiction gem from 2009, that had a brilliant blend of a fantastic sci-fi story and incredibly topical issues like xenophobia, forced evictions, inhumanity, abuse of power, and corporations. This beautifully themed mockumentary piece follows the exploits of a man named Wikus van de Merwe, who is charged with headed the project of relocating 1.8 million "prawns," an alien species that came to Earth in a desperate move because of malnourishment and depleted resources, to a new habitat outside of the city limits of Johannesburg, South Africa. The film is not only incredibly effective in its cloaking of its deeper message, it stands out as one of the grittiest, and best-looking films of last year. Special effects produced by WETA, the company behind Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" movies, are hauntingly beautiful and believable, and their blending into the real terrain of the film is exquisite in its flawlessness. Based on a 2005 short film, District 9 took a surprising 6 Oscar nominations for itself, and has with audiences and critics alike shown itself to be one of the best films of last year. While I don't think it will win Best Picture, I am thrilled to see it getting attention.

My Review: A

An Education

This small British film stands out in my mind as the most familiar Oscar nominee of the year, carrying its story more on acting caliber, and well-written scenes, rather than flashy special effects and familiar faces. This is not a bad thing though by any means, and it keeps this coming-of-age drama interesting if not a bit predictable. I don't want to talk too much about plot, in an attempt to keep the story intact for late viewers, but the story is based on the autobiographical memoir of British journalist, Lynn Barber, and follows a young student named Jenny Mellor through the chaotic, eye-opening exploits she is exposed to by a group of older bohemians, lead by a smooth-talking romantic man named David Goldman. Well-written, and well-told, An Education is another one that feels like an Oscar nominee, but not like an Oscar winner. Although Carey Mulligan's portrayal of Jenny does feel like it would have a shot if it weren't for the popular power of Sandra Bullock.

My Review: B

The Hurt Locker

Beautiful photography, prime direction, and incredibly tense sequences made Kathryn Bigelow's Oscar bid one of the most acclaimed films of 2009. Following the work of an Iraqi bomb squad, Bigelow examines the addiction of war, and the casualties that take place both psychically and mentally as a byproduct of service. To this day, I have never had a more uncomfortable movie-going experience than I had the first time I watched The Hurt Locker; as these characters walk towards bombs, invoking the film's name, "Walking into the Hurt Locker," and you believe that anything and everything can go wrong at the press of a button, or cut of a wire. Stirring performances are given by Anthony Mackie, and Jeremy Renner, while Renner's performance is much more unsettling, showing the effects of war more truthfully than any other character. The goal of this film was to show the real experiences that soldiers face, not the watered-down versions seen on CNN, and in that respect, I feel that the film is successful. This is my best guess at a Best Picture winner, not that it is what I would vote for, but Kathryn Bigelow became the first female to take home the Director's Guild Award for her work, which almost certainly nets her for the first female directing Oscar, and possibly Best Picture.

My Review: A

Inglorious Basterds

I have a love/hate relationship with Quentin Tarantino. There is the part of me that loves his exploitative, violent, clever films like Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction, and Reservoir Dogs, but there also is the part of me that hates him for his arrogance and his shameless self-promotion. All of these factors are present in his newest film, Inglorious Basterds, the little film that many believed may never see the light of day, but has now slammed its metaphorical boot heal into the skull of mainstream audiences. And it is also common knowledge to close personal friends of mine, that I had nothing but disdain for this movie the first time I saw it. I ranted and raved that it was too long, too far fetched, and filled with Tarantino's sarcastic satire to a point that brought the bile to the back of my throat. But I think this was because I am getting older and am starting to be wasted on one of my favorite traditions, the midnight showing, and I just can't see a movie like this at midnight and get everything I can out of it. After a second, early evening viewing, I completely reexamined the movie, and now I have to say that I love it, despite still having some problems with it. It is brilliantly written, Tarantino was doing so for 10 years and it shows, it is beautifully shot, maintains the style choices that I love about Tarantino, and has what I would consider to be the best performance by an actor this year, Christoph Waltz as the horrible and charismatic SS officer, Hans Landa. All that being said, I still do have my issues with the film, but the positive heavily outweighs the negative after seeing it again.

My Review: A-

Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

Director Lee Daniels presents the most tragic film of this year's Oscars with Precious, a heart-wrenching adaption of Sapphire's fictional account of an abused, unloved girl whose life continually gets the way of her happiness. While every movie in this list has a standout performance by an actor or actress, no movie more so than Precious, and maybe Up in the Air, can boast at the power of its ensemble cast. A brilliant performance by unknown actress, Gabourey Sidibe, is highlighted by touching additions from Paula Patton, as the beautiful and encouraging, Ms. Blu Rain, Lenny Kravitz, as Nurse John McFadden, Ms. Weiss, a very believable performance from a very drab looking Mariah Carey, and the powerhouse performance of the movie coming from Mo'Nique, who plays Mary Jones, Precious' verbally and physically abusive mother. It is hard to say whether one can "like" a movie like Precious, because it would sound like saying you like using your sewing pin cushion as a pillow at night, but Precious is a very beautiful, albeit depressing film about the unseen horrors of everyday life that more people have to face than should.

My Review: A-

A Serious Man

The Coen Brothers have never been for everyone. While it would be hard to find someone who hasn't seen at least one of their almost 15 films, it wouldn't be easy to find someone who really enjoyed or understood every film this duo has put out. While a lover of most Coen Brothers' films, I was perplexed by A Serious Man, what I have come to understand as a somewhat modern retelling of the story of Job, as Larry Gopnik, Michael Stuhlbarg, strains to find balance and understanding in the world, while examining his faith, his mortality, and his sudden misfortune. The film displays impeccable construction, and despite its odd, quirky nature, it is incredibly engrossing, even if you aren't totally sure why you're interested. It's a movie where the plot gets lost for the scenes, where individual scenes are brilliant and filled with dark humor, but by the end you aren't sure what just happened. This kind of film shows the freedom that the Coen's have won with their Oscar winner, No Country for Old Men, and they now have even more freedom to explore more personal films that explore deeper questions and themes. Overall, I commend the Coen's on their film, even if I myself didn't truly understand it.

My Review: B+

Up

While Wall-E may have been overlooked last year, 10 Best Picture nomination spots made sure that Up wouldn't fall to the same fate. Veteran Pixar director, Pete Doctor, who brought us the brilliant 2001 Pixar classic, Monster's Inc., once again shows that Pixar has the collection of greatest, imaginative minds found in the film industry today. Up is an absolutely wonderful family film, that is not afraid to tread into the darker themes of death and obsession, but mostly maintains its bright, fun, and truly original story with cute characters, hilarious situations, and wonderfully-written dialogue. Ed Asner plays the voice of Carl Fredricksen , who is joined by an overeager boyscout named Russell, an exotic bird named Kevin, and quite possibly the most adorable character of all time, Dug, a loyal, talking dog. All of this padded by stunning animation; how Pixar continues to up itself in this regard I will never know, and the most brilliant musical score of the year, composed by none other than Michael Giacchino, who not only highlights key points of the movie with music, but is asked to tell the most emotional story of the film with nothing more than images and his score. If there should be one lock on an award this year, it should Giachinno's masterpiece of a score. Up is also the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture since 1992, when Disney brought the story of Beauty and the Beast to the big screen.

My Review: A

Up In The Air

Our last entry in the Best Picture list, is the new entry from 2008 Academy Award hopeful director, Jason Reitman, who brought us the 2008 Best Picture nominee, Juno, and the 2005 corporate satire, Thank You For Smoking. Reitman's newest film is his strongest yet, and shows once again that he has an inherent flare for making a film seem easy, like its excellence is just present from the start, and almost no effort had to go into making this movie great, and that its perfectly balanced blend of comedy and drama make the film feel exceptionally casual and entirely relatable. I think this is the mark of an exceptional director, and Up In The Air stands out in my mind as the most complete package in this list, bringing the audience into a perfectly captured modern world, populated by believable characters, choices and decisions based in reality, and realizations about humanity and relationships that speak so loudly and clearly, that they cannot be ignored. The movie is thoughtfully existential in its examination of the modern world, a trait that seems all but lost in our culture of self-brewing coffee, automatic pilot, and self-parking cars, where we are challenged to think less and less about the complexities of everyday life. But Reitman continues to examine the world's intricacies between people, places, and things, all while aided by the calm and perpetual coolness of George Clooney, the sexy and seemingly illusive Vera Farmiga, and the strong-willed naivety of Anna Kendrick. This movie had everything I was looking for from it, and it leaves me wanting more in the years to come from the mind of Jason Reitman.

My Review: A

So there you have it, an impressive list of wonderful cinema that has been brought out in the past year. The Academy certainly has their work cut out for them, and this year's Oscars promise to be enjoyable and hopefully surprising! As for me, now that I am all caught up on reviews, I will hopefully be returning to my normal format of reviewing, although I have learned a bit about being concise with these reviews. Please leave your thoughts, comments, agreements, disagreements, predictions, what have you, and remember to watch March 7th when Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin host the 82nd Annual Academy Awards!