Thursday, March 4, 2010 - Treasure Box
Thursday's Two-Cent Reviews (Oscars 2010)
O
k. I know it's been 10 months since I last shared my 'two-cents' - but, hey, it's the Oscars on Sunday and I've got to give my opinion on this year's films and the upcoming awards. I love movies. I tend to love 'chick-flicks' more than movies filled with explosions. And I still love the Oscars despite how political it has become (I mean these studios campaign at a Presidential level!)
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Last year I gave my Oscar rundown here - and I'll just go ahead and follow the same format this year.
First, my predictions on who WILL win, and then, who I would vote for:
Best Foreign Film
I really love foreign films and can't believe I haven't seen ANY of them this year! So disappointing! I think 'The White Ribbon' is going to win it. Looking forward to catching up with it someday...
If I had a vote? Well, I haven't seen any of them yet - so I'd have to do that before I cast my ballot.
Best Documentary
My wife and I really enjoy watching Documentaries together - I think it's her favorite type of film. We've watched 'The Cove' and 'Food, Inc.' and I think 'The Cove' is going to win it. It's like a spy movie and pretty entertaining in that regard. It's also pretty horrible watching dolphins being slaughtered...
If I had a vote? 'The Cove'.
Animated Feature
I've seen 'Up' and 'Fantastic Mr. Fox'. I think 'Up' is going to win. Has Pixar ever lost? Hmmm, interesting trivia question!
If I had a vote? 'Up'. The film suffers in the same way 'Wall-E' does in that the first half is far better than the second. But the first half of 'Up' is SO good.
Cinematography
I've seen 3 of the 5 and I think 'Avatar' is going to win. I'm no expert in judging this (even though I'm a photographer) but considering all of the new technology they created just to film this movie and then to think about how they blended it all together and made 'Pandora' so real - it's a great achievement...
If I had a vote? Hmmm.... tough one. I might go with 'Inglorious Basterds' though.
Best Supporting Actor
This is one of the biggest 'locks' of the night - Christoph Waltz is going to win. He kinda owned that movie!
If I had a vote? Yeah, I'd vote for him too.
Best Supporting Actress
Sounds like this one is a lock too - Mo'Nique. I haven't seen 'Precious' though. But I have seen 'Up in the Air' and 'Crazy Heart' and so...
If I had a vote? Vera Farmiga.
Best Actor
It's going to be Jeff Bridges or George Clooney. I think Jeff Bridges is going to take home the statue.
If I had a vote? I'd vote for Jeff Bridges. Great performance AND he sings and plays guitar. I'm a sucker for a good singer/songwriter story.
Best Actress
Shockingly it sounds like Sandra Bullock is going to win! She was good - but not THAT good! I really enjoyed Meryl Streep and I heard, early last year, that Carey Mulligan was incredible but - probably because of her campaign peaking to early - she's faded off the radar.
If I had a vote? Can I vote for someone when I haven't seen their performance? It's my list, so I say 'yes'! :) Carey Mulligan. I just heard so many good things...
Best Picture
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglorious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air
Really - it's a two-movie race even though they upped the nominees to 10 this year. 'Avatar' the highest grossing film ever, or 'Hurt Locker' which would be the lowest grossing winner ever, were it to win. However, I've heard some quiet rumblings that due to the change in voting this year a potential 'upset' could happen! Voters had to rank the films 1 through 10 this year instead of just picking a winner. So, if voters split on the #1 film but there's a 2nd film that gets tons of 2nd or third place votes - it could be possible to see 'Inglorious Basterds' or 'Up in the Air' sneak in there!!
Who do I think is going to win?
First, my predictions on who WILL win, and then, who I would vote for:
Best Foreign Film
I really love foreign films and can't believe I haven't seen ANY of them this year! So disappointing! I think 'The White Ribbon' is going to win it. Looking forward to catching up with it someday...
If I had a vote? Well, I haven't seen any of them yet - so I'd have to do that before I cast my ballot.
Best Documentary
My wife and I really enjoy watching Documentaries together - I think it's her favorite type of film. We've watched 'The Cove' and 'Food, Inc.' and I think 'The Cove' is going to win it. It's like a spy movie and pretty entertaining in that regard. It's also pretty horrible watching dolphins being slaughtered...
If I had a vote? 'The Cove'.
Animated Feature
I've seen 'Up' and 'Fantastic Mr. Fox'. I think 'Up' is going to win. Has Pixar ever lost? Hmmm, interesting trivia question!
If I had a vote? 'Up'. The film suffers in the same way 'Wall-E' does in that the first half is far better than the second. But the first half of 'Up' is SO good.
Cinematography
I've seen 3 of the 5 and I think 'Avatar' is going to win. I'm no expert in judging this (even though I'm a photographer) but considering all of the new technology they created just to film this movie and then to think about how they blended it all together and made 'Pandora' so real - it's a great achievement...
If I had a vote? Hmmm.... tough one. I might go with 'Inglorious Basterds' though.
Best Supporting Actor
This is one of the biggest 'locks' of the night - Christoph Waltz is going to win. He kinda owned that movie!
If I had a vote? Yeah, I'd vote for him too.
Best Supporting Actress
Sounds like this one is a lock too - Mo'Nique. I haven't seen 'Precious' though. But I have seen 'Up in the Air' and 'Crazy Heart' and so...
If I had a vote? Vera Farmiga.
Best Actor
It's going to be Jeff Bridges or George Clooney. I think Jeff Bridges is going to take home the statue.
If I had a vote? I'd vote for Jeff Bridges. Great performance AND he sings and plays guitar. I'm a sucker for a good singer/songwriter story.
Best Actress
Shockingly it sounds like Sandra Bullock is going to win! She was good - but not THAT good! I really enjoyed Meryl Streep and I heard, early last year, that Carey Mulligan was incredible but - probably because of her campaign peaking to early - she's faded off the radar.
If I had a vote? Can I vote for someone when I haven't seen their performance? It's my list, so I say 'yes'! :) Carey Mulligan. I just heard so many good things...
Best Picture
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglorious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air
Really - it's a two-movie race even though they upped the nominees to 10 this year. 'Avatar' the highest grossing film ever, or 'Hurt Locker' which would be the lowest grossing winner ever, were it to win. However, I've heard some quiet rumblings that due to the change in voting this year a potential 'upset' could happen! Voters had to rank the films 1 through 10 this year instead of just picking a winner. So, if voters split on the #1 film but there's a 2nd film that gets tons of 2nd or third place votes - it could be possible to see 'Inglorious Basterds' or 'Up in the Air' sneak in there!!
Who do I think is going to win?
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The 'audience favorite' won last year, and I have a feeling it won't happen two years in a row. 'The Hurt Locker' is a powerful war film. Certainly worthy of this award in my opinion.
If I had a vote? Well, I haven't seen 'A Serious Man' and I'm very curious about it. I've heard some say that it's the Coen Brothers best film to date, which says a lot! I actually think I would vote for 'Inglorious Basterds' given these 10 choices. I really think that in 20 years, people will still be talking about 'Avatar' for its visual achievements and they'll be talking about Quentin Tarantino's film as a near 'masterpiece'. QT is a bit divisive it seems and so many people don't give him the credit he is due because he just bugs them. And this film is very divisive as well! Rewriting the holocaust!? But there is no denying that QT is a master filmmaker and I have a feeling that given some time for reflection, this film will eventually be regarded as one of his very best.
MOVIE CITY NEWS
If you really want to know what the best of the best are - Movie City News collects the top 10 lists of critics from all over the country. This year they collected 225 top tens. Each first place vote gets 10 points, 2nd gets 9... 10th place gets one point. And then they add it up. I really love them for doing this. So, here it is, the Politic-free and Marketing-free TRUE Best Picture rankings of 2009 (or at least as accurate a list as you're likely to find).
If I had a vote? Well, I haven't seen 'A Serious Man' and I'm very curious about it. I've heard some say that it's the Coen Brothers best film to date, which says a lot! I actually think I would vote for 'Inglorious Basterds' given these 10 choices. I really think that in 20 years, people will still be talking about 'Avatar' for its visual achievements and they'll be talking about Quentin Tarantino's film as a near 'masterpiece'. QT is a bit divisive it seems and so many people don't give him the credit he is due because he just bugs them. And this film is very divisive as well! Rewriting the holocaust!? But there is no denying that QT is a master filmmaker and I have a feeling that given some time for reflection, this film will eventually be regarded as one of his very best.
MOVIE CITY NEWS
If you really want to know what the best of the best are - Movie City News collects the top 10 lists of critics from all over the country. This year they collected 225 top tens. Each first place vote gets 10 points, 2nd gets 9... 10th place gets one point. And then they add it up. I really love them for doing this. So, here it is, the Politic-free and Marketing-free TRUE Best Picture rankings of 2009 (or at least as accurate a list as you're likely to find).
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Finally - my favorites. Just to give you some idea of where I'm coming from, here are my favorite films from the last few years:
2004
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Born Into Brothels
2005
Junebug
2006
United 93
Pan's Labyrinth
2007
Once
The Lives of Others
2008
Wall-E (I know, I know. I had it #2 last year. Time changes things...)
So this year, if Movie City News wanted to hear my two cents, here it is...
Jared's Favorite Films of 2009
10. Up - An opening montage that leaves me in tears.
9. Avatar - Of the 3 Sci-Fi films in my top 10, it's third. Enjoyable. Revolutionary. Terrible script.
8. Inglorious Basterds - There are a few scenes of pure genius. But the language and gore drops it down in my book.
7. Hurt Locker - Instead of focusing on the entire scope of war, it focuses on 3 soldiers. Very, very good stuff.
6. Moon - Art house indie sci-fi. Loved it!
5. Star Trek - My favorite sci-fi of the year. So entertaining and refreshing. Star Trek's going to be around a little longer now...
4. Up in the Air - I laughed more during this movie than probably all the rest I saw all year - put together. That's an achievement.
3. Crazy Heart
Great performances. Great music. Great story. Like I said before, I'm a sucker for a movie like this and it didn't disappoint. Kinda over the alchohol/drugs being the downfall plot though. Oh, well - there's enough good stuff to make up for it.
2. (500) Days of Summer
Was not prepared for how good this movie is! Some of my most favorite movies are non-linear (see: Magnolia, Eternal Sunshine) and this one pulls it off uniquely and creatively. It's also a love story and very funny.
And #1.... Where the Wild Things Are
2004
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Born Into Brothels
2005
Junebug
2006
United 93
Pan's Labyrinth
2007
Once
The Lives of Others
2008
Wall-E (I know, I know. I had it #2 last year. Time changes things...)
So this year, if Movie City News wanted to hear my two cents, here it is...
Jared's Favorite Films of 2009
10. Up - An opening montage that leaves me in tears.
9. Avatar - Of the 3 Sci-Fi films in my top 10, it's third. Enjoyable. Revolutionary. Terrible script.
8. Inglorious Basterds - There are a few scenes of pure genius. But the language and gore drops it down in my book.
7. Hurt Locker - Instead of focusing on the entire scope of war, it focuses on 3 soldiers. Very, very good stuff.
6. Moon - Art house indie sci-fi. Loved it!
5. Star Trek - My favorite sci-fi of the year. So entertaining and refreshing. Star Trek's going to be around a little longer now...
4. Up in the Air - I laughed more during this movie than probably all the rest I saw all year - put together. That's an achievement.
3. Crazy Heart
Great performances. Great music. Great story. Like I said before, I'm a sucker for a movie like this and it didn't disappoint. Kinda over the alchohol/drugs being the downfall plot though. Oh, well - there's enough good stuff to make up for it.
2. (500) Days of Summer
Was not prepared for how good this movie is! Some of my most favorite movies are non-linear (see: Magnolia, Eternal Sunshine) and this one pulls it off uniquely and creatively. It's also a love story and very funny.
And #1.... Where the Wild Things Are
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What can I say? This one just hit 'home' more than any other film I saw all year. It totally spoke to me - well, the 12-year old boy that I used to be anyway. And if Avatar must be discussed as a great achievement in visual stunnery (yes, I made that word up friends) then this movie has to be right there in the conversation too. I love an emotional movie - and this movie pulls off something incredible by making each creature a reflection of one of the boys various emotions. I mean - the emotions are there walking around, destroying houses, cuddling, throwing birds, building forts, and having a wild rumpus together. Doesn't get any more creative - or beautiful - than that for 2009!
PLEASE TELL ME YOUR FAVORITE(S) OF 2009 AND WHY. I'D LOVE TO HEAR IT!
PLEASE TELL ME YOUR FAVORITE(S) OF 2009 AND WHY. I'D LOVE TO HEAR IT!
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