Some thoughts on… Oscars 2010
In an attempt to gain viewers, the Academy this year is selecting a greater diversity of movies and nominating 10 films in the Best Picture category. The increased number means it’s harder to keep up and watch all the candidates. Thus, to be perfectly candid, I have not yet seen the following movies – An Education, A Serious Man, and Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire. Nonetheless, that won’t stop me from describing my personal favorites
The Best Picture category is an all out fight between Avatar – perhaps the greatest movie ever made – and The Hurt Locker, the best film of the year. So what is my distinction between a movie and a film? Avatar is a great movie for its combination of effects, camera angles and 3D realism. It is a transformation in movie-making, similar to the revolutions of silent to sound and monochrome to color. The themes though are quite simple – good vs. evil; boy meets, loses and gets back girl (albeit 9-foot tall, feline blue girl). The story is familiar, but the packaging is ground-breaking.
Katheryn Bigelow’s feature, The Hurt Locker, available on DVD, also shows us a world we barely know – following a bomb-defusing team in Baghdad. But, this is not re-telling a classic tale. Instead it muses on darker themes –the desire for annihilation in a world where taking risks is what keeps you alive; the imbalance between sanity and gifted-talent. Similar to Avatar, this movie has bombastic effects, but what makes it different is the taut storyline and character development. Although Avatar will get Best Picture, Katheryn Bigelow should win Best Director.
The other Best Picture candidates like District 9 would have had a shot in a less strong year. Up also nominated in this category should float away with the Best Animated Feature category.
Best Actor will go to Jeff Bridges, but he is robbing it from Colin Firth whose portrayal of a torn soul due to his lover’s death in A Single Man is heart-breaking.
Best Actress will go to Sandra Bullock. Although the movie Blind Side pulls at all the right heart strings, it is not a great film or movie and shouldn’t be a Best Picture candidate. Yet, Bullock’s turn as the bull-headed, suburban mother that adopts and raises a pro-football athelete, is sincere and worthy. Meryl Streep has enough nominations and wins; she doesn’t need this one.
Christopher Waltz’s killer performance in Inglorious Basterds should get Best Supporting Actor. His fey Nazi Colonel who speaks four languages fluently and is constantly outwitting his prey is pure Oscar fun. The vengeance story of the movie itself is a little more disquieting. Matt Damon’s Afrikaaner rugby player doing the right thing in Invictus would have won for its feel-good storyline in any other year.
Finally, Mo’Nique’s performance in Precious has won every award so far, and is likely to continue its streak. Although, I personally enjoyed Vera Farmiga’s performance as foil and friend to George Clooney in Up In The Air. I hope to see this pairing soon – they may become the modern-day Cary Grant / Katherine Hepburn.
Have fun and don’t forget to watch on Sunday, March 7.
February 27, 2010
The Best Picture category is an all out fight between Avatar – perhaps the greatest movie ever made – and The Hurt Locker, the best film of the year. So what is my distinction between a movie and a film? Avatar is a great movie for its combination of effects, camera angles and 3D realism. It is a transformation in movie-making, similar to the revolutions of silent to sound and monochrome to color. The themes though are quite simple – good vs. evil; boy meets, loses and gets back girl (albeit 9-foot tall, feline blue girl). The story is familiar, but the packaging is ground-breaking.
Katheryn Bigelow’s feature, The Hurt Locker, available on DVD, also shows us a world we barely know – following a bomb-defusing team in Baghdad. But, this is not re-telling a classic tale. Instead it muses on darker themes –the desire for annihilation in a world where taking risks is what keeps you alive; the imbalance between sanity and gifted-talent. Similar to Avatar, this movie has bombastic effects, but what makes it different is the taut storyline and character development. Although Avatar will get Best Picture, Katheryn Bigelow should win Best Director.
The other Best Picture candidates like District 9 would have had a shot in a less strong year. Up also nominated in this category should float away with the Best Animated Feature category.
Best Actor will go to Jeff Bridges, but he is robbing it from Colin Firth whose portrayal of a torn soul due to his lover’s death in A Single Man is heart-breaking.
Best Actress will go to Sandra Bullock. Although the movie Blind Side pulls at all the right heart strings, it is not a great film or movie and shouldn’t be a Best Picture candidate. Yet, Bullock’s turn as the bull-headed, suburban mother that adopts and raises a pro-football athelete, is sincere and worthy. Meryl Streep has enough nominations and wins; she doesn’t need this one.
Christopher Waltz’s killer performance in Inglorious Basterds should get Best Supporting Actor. His fey Nazi Colonel who speaks four languages fluently and is constantly outwitting his prey is pure Oscar fun. The vengeance story of the movie itself is a little more disquieting. Matt Damon’s Afrikaaner rugby player doing the right thing in Invictus would have won for its feel-good storyline in any other year.
Finally, Mo’Nique’s performance in Precious has won every award so far, and is likely to continue its streak. Although, I personally enjoyed Vera Farmiga’s performance as foil and friend to George Clooney in Up In The Air. I hope to see this pairing soon – they may become the modern-day Cary Grant / Katherine Hepburn.
Have fun and don’t forget to watch on Sunday, March 7.
February 27, 2010