Blog neglect!

I never did get around to my Oscar wrap-up! Here's my rambling take on the Best Picture nominees:

Part One:


The first part of the Oscar marathon was fun but exhausting! I enjoyed all five films- well, it was hard to enjoy Precious, but it was so heartbreaking and well-acted. Not one I'll see again anytime soon, but I thought it was a great movie. Mo'Nique scared the crap out of me (WORST MOVIE MOM EVER!!!), Mariah Carey was surprisingly good (and unrecognizable), and Precious herself was perfect.

I'd already seen Up, but it was nice to see it on the big screen again.

A Serious Man was my favorite of the day, I think. Like I said earlier, the Coen brothers haven't let me down yet. Problem is, a lot of people probably didn't get it. It helps if you have Jewish friends who grew up in the Midwest! The movie is somewhat based on the Coen's lives growing up in Minnesota. The story is about all kinds of crap happening to a college professor- but it's funny. The ending is very typical Coen brothers. And how could I not love a movie that has a kid doing his bar mitzvah utterly shit-faced on pot...and doing it perfectly. Hee!

I thought Avatar was a lot of fun and pretty to look at for sure- not really the best movie ever, but I enjoyed it. The plot was fairly simple, the acting was so-so for the most part, but it was a good time! And I saw it in 3-D. District 9 was the one that surprised me- sure, it was violent and gory, but it was excellent storytelling. The Prawns were a bit scary, but at the same time, sympathetic. And both Avatar and District 9 had a similar theme- understanding aliens by actually becoming one of them (one willingly, one accidentally). Very similar stories with different results.

Part Two:

I loved everything except Inglorious Basterds. I hated that one at first because it was so relentlessly violent, though it certainly had good things about it.

I think An Education was my favorite from day 2. Simple story- girl in early 60's England gets "an education" when she is seduced by an older man. She has to grow up very quickly at the end. Carey Mulligan is so perfect in this movie! Lots of great supporting players, too. Alfred Molina plays Jenny's dad, Emma Thompson is the Headmistress of her school, and Peter Sarsgaard is the man who sweeps her off her feet.

Hurt Locker was a pretty amazing look at the Iraq war and the soldiers who disarm bombs and IEDs. Heart stopping doesn't even begin to describe it. Good cast, too-including Best Actor nominee Jeremy Renner, Ralph Fiennes in a cameo, and Anthony Mackie from We Are Marshall (he was good in that, too!). It was pretty hard to watch at times.

Up in the Air probably was the best timed movie of the bunch (because of all the layoffs happening), and George Clooney probaby gave his best performance yet.

The Blind Side- I love true stories that have happy endings, and I loved watching Sandra Bullock in this one.

Inglorious Basterds- I wanted to love this movie. It had a great cast, clever story...but it was just too violent to enjoy. A little less violence and maybe half hour off the running time, and it would have been one of the greats. It was so brutal! I wonder what it was like in the original Klingon. :p


My thoughts on the awards- Hurt Locker deserved Best Picture and Director (first woman to win! WOOT!), no doubt in my mind. I didn't see many of the acting nominees, but I'm glad Jeff Bridges finally won the big one. The Dude abides! Sandra Bullock, Mo'Nique, and Christoph Waltz all deserved their wins. Waltz was the best thing about Inglorious Basterds!

The Star Trek francise won its first ever Oscar! It won for make-up.

Other than the Oscar marathon, I haven't been to the movies much in 2010. I did see Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, which was truly magical. It was entertaining and just plain gorgeous with eye-popping effects. I liked it more than Avatar! Seeing it in 3-D and IMAX made it even better. And Johnny Depp was awesome as The Mad Hatter.

I also saw Date Night- a slightly above-average comedy made terrific because of Steve Carrell and Tina Fey- and the most hilarious car chase I've seen on film in years (even better than the one in Pineapple Express!).

Nothing else really interests me right now. I'm looking forward to Robin Hood with Russell Crowe. I'm not sure what else is coming.