Back to finish the best of the rest. Now in Part One of my two part series I broke down 5 of the 10 Oscar contenders for Best Picture. Many of them are out in theaters right now and I'd say that seeing the movies before sitting down with a tub of popcorn to watch the events at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles is probably the best. If you don't have time or you really don't want to see these movies but still want to sound like you know what your talking about when you give a 5 minute dissertation on why Inception should of won. So now I will attempt to breakdown the other 5 although to be honest. I still have not seen Toy Story 3 or Winter's Bone. Since they have no chance, I will not feel too bad.
To review:
King's Speech : ppppppuhlease dddddon't wwwwaste yyyyouuuur tttttime. I'll be quite ppppissed if it wins. If you were frustrated reading the first sentence, imagine two hours of it. Yeah, not so good. Colin Firth should win best actor but if this wins Best Picture, I will wonder wwwwhy.
Black Swan: Great movie and not only for the sex scenes. Who saw that coming? Certainly not Natalie Portman in the lesbian scene. Portman is a winner, Best Picture...nah.
Inception: The best movie of the year. Innovative, smart, brilliantly acted, written,directed. Has no chance in hell but the best of the best.
The Fighter: The one with Markie Mark playing some guy with abs who fights some guy no one's heard of. Christian Bale is brilliant as Mark Wahlberg's drug addicted brother. To follow karate kid logic, the movie is really about the fight Christian Bale goes through in overcoming drugs and his own personality to help his brother win his fights. Will not win Best Picture but deserves it more than most. Bale should easily win for Best Supporting actor.
The Social Network: Facebook movie about how The Facebook became Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg became a douche. The movie I predict will win Best Picture. Slight chance that Jessie Eisenberg (that's right Hallie Eisenberg's big/little brother) will win for Best Actor.
Toy Story 3
I can't say that this doesn't deserve to win Best Picture for any other reason than it will probably win for Best Animated Picture. I can't tell you much of the story other than Woody and Buzz Lightyear undoubtedly get into some adventures when Andy's Mom sells them to a preschool. Chances are good that eventually the toys will find there way back to the safety of Andy's care. This movie will not win Best Picture, probably will win Best Animated Film.
Winter's Bone
From IMDB: An unflinching Ozark Mountain girl hacks through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her drug-dealing father while trying to keep her family intact.
Sounds like one of those laugh a minute rides through drug abuse. My brother told me that it was perhaps one of the most disturbing movies he's ever seen and that I should love it. What exactly does that mean about me? That I like dark and disturbing movies, I suppose. It looks like a great movie and since I haven't seen it I can't say whether it deserves a Best Picture win or if the young girl in the movie should win for Best Actress. Probably won't but they are in the game so I can't rule them out.
The Kids Are All Right
I remember, as I sat in the theater watching this movie because it was Teresa's "It's gonna win all the awards" movie of the week, thinking "This is a movie that was made with someone who is not me in mind." It is a great movie and worthy of being nominated but if you are under the age of 40, it will not affect you as it will some others. It's the story of two children of a lesbian couple, portrayed by Julianne Moore and Annette Bening, who search for an find their birth father portrayed by "13 Going on 30" actor Mark Ruffalo who comes into their lives and almost breaks the lesbian moms up. It is very...I don't want to say odd...but it is made for a more hippie baby boomer audience. A fine film, I wish it the best but it will probably not win. Great film but not the Best.
Golden Unhappy Awards:
Julianne Moore: The Banky from Chasing Amy's "all they need is a good deep d--king" award.
Mark Ruffalo's Ass: For making more appearances than Mark Ruffalo's face.
True Grit
The Cohen Brothers remake the John Wayne classic and do so with great ability and skill. As with every Cohen Brothers movies, they make a fun movie out of the story of a 14 year old girl who hires a man to help her find her father's murderer and bring him to justice. Hailee Steinfeld as the 14 year old girl shows talent well beyond her years creates a performance that both thrills and terrifies. If they had a Best New Actress category I'd put her up against Kick Ass and Let Me In's Chloe Grace Moretz as the Best New Actress of the Year. As it is they put her up against a bunch of actresses that the Academy will believe "deserve" it more. I loved the movie, and it kept me entertained and interested to see what would happen to the characters. No Best Picture award but could earn the Bros. another Best Direction Award. If Hailee Steinfeld wins in the Best Supporting Actress, I will be very pleased.
Golden Unhappy Awards:
Hailee Steinfeld - Best New Actress
Matt Damon - Biggest Mouth with the littlest backup
Creepy Mooing guy - For giving me a healthy smile and laugh
127 Hours
This movie can be known as the one where the guy cuts his arm off. James Franco portrays Aron Ralston, a hiker who went hiking by himself, fell and ended up with his arm wedged between a mountain and a large rock. Limited by the amount of food and water he has, Aron last 127 Hours until eventually sawing through his arm to save his life. This we know, what the movie has to do is keep us interested in this man's struggle for 2 hours with no other actor than James Franco onscreen. They cheat a bit using flashbacks and hallucinations but for the most part it is a guy with his arm caught trying to figure out what to do. It is masterfully done by "28 Days Later" and the lesser known "Slumdog Millionaire" director Danny Boyle and James Franco who make you feel the pain Aron feels without being too grossed out by what is a gross and disturbing thing to do. It should be one of the front runners for Best Picture but apparently stuttering is more interesting than cutting one's arm off to survive. James Franco should indeed be a front runner for Best Actor and while he is nominated I think the biggest honor he'll be given is Host.
Golden Unhappy Award:
James Franco : The "I just chopped my freaking arm off" award
***
There it is, a breakdown of next weeks Oscars. See you next time when I show you how to enjoy a horror movie, every time, without really putting too much effort into it.
Next:
How to survive the worst of the worst horror movies without putting too much effort in.
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