Overview of 2011 Oscar Pictures
Last year was a stellar year for the Academy Awards. When the Academy decided to expand the Best Picture category from five to ten nominees, I thought the field would get watered down. Well, last year's field was certainly NOT watered down! In my opinion, it was the best year for the Oscars out of the last several years. I can't remember the last time I was so passionate about a field of nominees. I decided to do a brief breakdown of the Best Pic nominees, in order from my least fav to my absolute most fav:
10. The Kids Are Alright
The weakest nominee by far. This soap opera piece of garbage is offensive, and not worthy of the acknowledgement of the Academy. I barely made it through the whole thing. BOOO!
9. Winter's Bone
What is going on in this movie? Family drama and meth labs? No thanks, Academy. I didn't understand all the praise, adulation, and attention on this movie. I didn't hate it, but I did think it was overrated.
8. Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3 in 8th place??? Yes, dear reader. While this third installment of an animated children's movie is certainly emotionally potent at times, is it really deserving? I mean, they have a separate category for Best Animated Picture for a reason. Why double nominate? I know many disagree, but in my amateur humble opinion, it did not quite measure up to "Best Picture" status. The Academy should create a new category called "Ok, Pixar, here ya go".
7. 127 Hours
A weird movie based on a true story about a dude who gets stuck under a rock. I know it didn't have a chance of winning, but director Danny Boyle certainly deserved props. The music is fantastic (same guy that did the music in Slumdog Millionaire), the pace is gripping, the visuals are bright and compelling, and the overall style is great. A surprise Best Pic nominee that is truly an original.
6. True Grit
Beautiful true-to-era dialogue, some great performances, the Cohen brothers, remake of a classic, and you got yourself a really strong western. A great movie that is worth a second look.
5. Inception
A mind-blowing concept of manipulating people's actions by entering their dreams, and an equally memorable mind-blowing execution of that concept. This movie could have easily gotten bogged down and muddled up by its complex story. But, it overcomes and Christopher Nolan has created a cinematic sweetness: an intelligent, action-packed, sci-fi action espionage thriller. Wow. That made me tired just typing it. And don't forget: too many good performances to name.
4. The Fighter
I was already a fan of Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg, but this movie launched them to "incredible" status in my mind. The true story of boxer Micky Ward (Wahlberg) and his ex-boxer brother Dicky Ward (Bale) is yet another boxer flick that is just irresistible. It's like two movies rolled into one: a boxing movie starring Micky, and an indie drama about drug abuse starring Dicky. Mellisa Leo is amazing. Christian Bale was also totally deserving of an Oscar. If you missed this one, do yourself a favor and see it.
3. Black Swan
This is a wonderfully chilling drama that borders on "horror movie." Natalie Portman is a somewhat successful / somewhat struggling ballerina who is fighting for the role of her career...the Black Swan. This movie is dark, trippy, fascinating, and scandalous. I wrote an entire review of this movie that you can read elsewhere on this blog.
2. The Social Network
Who cares how accurate some of the details are? The Social Network is atleast mostly true. It's based on a book that was based on court documents, or something like that. David Fincher's magic touch as director really makes this flick incredible. And, the timeliness of the subject matter affects pretty much all of us. If you don't have a Facebook page, I'm sure you know someone who does. And, the subject matter is the sign of our times. A young nerd punk rises to glory and creates a landscape of motivated enemies in this weirdly exciting movie about creating a web site. It is inspirational, scathing, layered, young, and full of urgency.
1. The King's Speech
I love movies that make you want to stand up and cheer. I know it's cheesey, but that's what movies should be. And, I know that it may not be "cool" for younger people to be into this movie, but I don't care. I like vegetables more than candy. The King's Speech is a wonderful movie that makes me feel like I can achieve my dreams,...if only....if only I work and try! Is that cheesey enough for you? Colin Firth is great, Geoffery Rush simply is his character, Helena Botham Carter deserved an Oscar as much as anyone, and I love period pieces. The costumes, old cars, old buildings, and nostalgic feel are wonderful. It doesn't feel dusty and dated, but rather sprawling and beautiful. I am particularly interested in American Presidents, so this story about a real-life king was really inspiring for me. Struggles for power and national politics play into the events that Bertie (Colin Firth) must contend with. He is forced to step into a leadership position before he is ready. And, of course, it all comes down to one critical speech. The problem is, he is a horrendous stutterer. It is a mind-over-matter underdog story. And, I ate it up.
So, that rounds it out, kids. Lots of good nominees last year, and the Academy picked a great winner. (The King's Speech, in case you forgot) I'm already looking forward to next year, but I doubt it will be as strong as last year. What do you think?
I agree with many of your rankings, however, I have to disagree with your number 1 pick for "The King's Speech". I agree that the performances by the actors, the costumes and set design were great, and worthy of accolades. However, overall this movie felt really disjointed and slow to me. I had trouble at times figuring out where we were in the timeline when it would cut from scene to scene. I also felt like the movie dragged quite a bit and found myself looking at my watch frequently wondering when it was going to be over. I think it was a great cast (Geoffrey Rush and Colin Firth were awesome), and a great story, but it needed better directing and writing. But then again, what do I know.
ReplyDeleteI would probably swap it with "Inception" on your list. I freakin' loved that movie.
Also, I still haven't seen 127 hours because the idea of a movie about a guy stuck under a rock doesn't really appeal to me, so I have no opinion of this movie. Plus I heard something about a graphic scene where he cuts off his own limb, or something, which makes me want to vomit in my mouth a little.
Yeah, 127 Hours is certainly weird. I wasn't sure what to expect from it, but decided to see it on the big screen when I had the chance. The way people talked about it, it seemed like a different sort of "Cast Away", where the guy is trapped and alone for the whole movie. It's got more of a flare than Cast Away, with side characters, flashbacks, and fits of dellusional insanity that the main character struggles with. The arm breaking scene was disturbing, and the audience had a very immediate and vocal reaction, groaning and laughing. But, I think the intense reaction from the audience was largely based on anticpation of that moment, because everyone hyped it so much. It was pretty gross, though. ANd disturbing. But don't let that stop you from seeing it, because it's an interesting movie. Just close your eyes and plug your ears at the disturbing scene!
ReplyDeleteAs for the King's Speech, I can see how it could be disjointed. I think those jumps made it more appealing to my adult ADD. Even though I knew he would have his triumphant moment at the end, the movie guides the audience on a little cinematic journey. It was a really, really strong list of contenders last year, though. I believe many of the other movies on the list could have won on many other years. Can you imagine "Inception" two or three years before? It definitely would have had a better chance of winning Best Picture!