Best picture nominees

Oh, yeah.

Shakespeare in Love.

Several others.

 

Ten nominees really is a joke ... As Mizzou points out, if there's an upset, it's usually No. 2 over No. 1 (for lack of a better description). At least when there were only five, you thought that maybe, just maybe one of the other three could have a chance. Does anyone think Winter's Bone, Toy Story 3 or 127 Hours are serious contenders? It's fucking stupid.

 

It was a well made movie, but the story and characters are so static.
In 'The King's Speech' and 'True Grit,' the characters are dynamic. They unfold, develop and change.

 

For the first time, I've actually seen all the nominated films before the Oscars (which is saying something now that they're 10 films). Watched Social Network for the second time last night.

My rankings:
“Inception”
“The Social Network”
“The Fighter”
“Black Swan”
“127 Hours”
“True Grit”
“Winter’s Bone”
“The King’s Speech”
“The Kids Are All Right ”
“Toy Story 3″

 

I think Black Swan will be marginalized by many as the ballet film with the lesbo scene. But Portman's performance has to be a lock for Best Actress, and it did a much more engrossing job of mixing real and dream worlds than Inception, which was merely computerized confusion.

 

I think it's "The King's Speech," hands-down. But I loved "The Social Network" and "Winter's Bone," too. "Winter's Bone" has no chance but it's a wonderful movie that now maybe some people will go see.

 

At my office, this is the Super Bowl. I've seen a more than half the movies already and will pick up the rest during the Best Picture Showcase. Of the nominations, the only snub I was disappointed in was The Town getting left out (I would have put it ahead of The Kids Are Alright, which I liked, but not nearly as much as my top five). But that wasn't winning, so whatever. I was also disappointed to see Andrew Garfield, who was really the heart of Social Network, get left off Best Supporting Actor. And while there's no way it would have won, I would have liked to see Despicable Me get a nomination for Animated Feature.

For Best Picture, of the movies I've seen so far, I'd rank them:
The Fighter
Inception
The Social Network (Which I think will win...although that may change after I see the King's Speech)
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Black Swan
The Kids Are All Right

Haven't seen:
127 Hours
Winter’s Bone
The King’s Speech

 

Apropos of nothing, whenever I hear reference to Academy Award noms, I think of lolcats.

 

Jennifer Lawrence is also deserving.
I haven't seen Michelle Williams' or Nicole Kidman's movies yet.

 

Saw Winter's Bone tonight and loved it. Quite a few people in there for a 5 o'clock show on a Tuesday. Jennifer Lawrence has a bright future and John Hawkes was outstanding. Wasn't expecting to see Laura Palmer, who made a brief appearance.

 

And that's why Avatar won a boatload of technical awards. The ways in which the film "changed the game" didn't make it the best movie of the year. The reasons why a movie wins Best Picture - great performances, an excellent script, tight editing and evocative cinematography, etc. - aren't affected by the changes in the moviemaking process that Cameron pulled off with Avatar.

 

Winter's Bone was great. I won't watch Rabbit Hole because of the subject matter. My kid's that age, I'd don't really feel like sitting there and crying for two hours straight.