I saw most of the films nominated for the Oscars this year. But to be honest, I kind of gave up at a point. The pool wasn’t that deep this year and there is so much good television and web content to keep up with that my dance card fills. Film is in trouble, people. Know this. Anyway, here’s what I think of this year’s Oscar nominations.
Best Motion Picture of the Year Will Win: Inglourious Basterds
Should Win: A Serious Man
Should’ve Been Nominated: Away We Go
Going way out on a limb here with my pick. Partially just to shake things up. But there is method in my madness: the Academy changed the voting method this year. Now members rank the films from 1st to 10th and give out 10 points for every 1st place vote, 9 for every 2nd place and so forth. Inglourious Basterds will not be everyone’s first choice but it will be in everyone’s top 5. If the voting had not changed, I would say it’ll be The Hurt Locker.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Will Win: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
Should Win: Colin Firth, A Single Man
Should’ve Been Nominated: Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man / Sharlto Copley, District 9
Jeff Bridges definitely deserves to win an Oscar. Not this one necessarily but he’s playing a drunken Country music singer. Gold.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Will Win: Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Should Win: Carey Mulligan, An Education
Should’ve Been Nominated: Maya Rudolph, Away We Go
Sandra Bullock is currently the most successful female actress in Hollywood. And she’s good in this film. And it’s uplifting. And she’s American. And (hopefully) Carey Mulligan will come up again. And you should all find Carey Mulligan’s Doctor Who episode entitled “Blink”. It’s Earth-shatteringly good science fiction. Seriously, it’s Rod Serling good.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Will Win: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
Should Win: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
Should’ve Been Nominated: Keith Powell, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
A deserved win.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Will Win: Mo’Nique, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Should Win: Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Should’ve Been Nominated: Samantha Morton, The Messenger
Mo’Nique is great in the most depressing motion picture based on the novel Push by Sapphire. If only Anna Kendrick had been based on the novel Push by Sapphire. Then maybe she’d have a fighting chance. Seriously, I’ve applied to be based on the novel Push by Sapphire just for the perks.
Best Achievement in Directing Will Win: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Should Win: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Should’ve Been Nominated: Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, A Serious Man
She won the DGA Award, the BAFTA, & the Critic’s Choice. She’s gonna win. It’s a great film. And check out her earlier masterpiece Point Break. 100% pure adrenaline.
Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen Will Win: The Hurt Locker, Mark Boal
Should Win: A Serious Man, Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Should’ve Been Nominated: Away We Go, Dave Eggers & Vendela Vida
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published Will Win: Up in the Air, Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner
Should Win: District 9, Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell
Should’ve Been Nominated: The Informant!, Scott Z Burns
Best Achievement in Cinematography Will Win: The Hurt Locker, Barry Ackroyd
Should Win: Inglourious Basterds, Robert Richardson
Should’ve Been Nominated: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Nicola Pecorini
But watch out for The White Ribbon for the steal here.
Best Achievement in Editing Will Win: The Hurt Locker, Bob Murawski & Chris Innis
Should Win: The Hurt Locker
Best Achievement in Art Direction Will Win: Avatar
Should Win: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Should’ve Been Nominated: The Hurt Locker / A Serious Man
Best Achievement in Costume Design Will Win: The Young Victoria
Should Win: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Best Achievement in Makeup Will Win: The Young Victoria
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score Will Win: Up, Michael Giacchino
Should Win: Up
Best Achievement in Music Written, Motion Pictures, Original Song Will Win: Crazy Heart, “The Weary Kind”, T-Bone Burnett, Ryan Bingham
Best Achievement in Sound Will Win: The Hurt Locker
Best Achievement in Sound Editing Will Win: Avatar
Best Achievement in Visual Effects Will Win: Avatar
Should Win: District 9
This isn’t Star Wars vs The Matrix, quantity will win over quality.
Best Animated Feature Film of the Year Will Win: Up
Should Win: Up
Best Foreign Language Film of the Year Will Win: The White Ribbon (Germany)
The only one of the five nominated for other awards.
Best Documentary, Features Will Win: The Cove
It’s won every Documentary award so far this year.
Best Documentary, Short Subjects Will Win: China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
Title alone here.
Best Short Film, Animated Will Win: A Matter of Loaf and Death
Wallace & Gromit!
Best Short Film, Live Action Will Win: Kavi
Indian boy tries to escape oppression. Winner!
Well, folks, it’s happened. Clearly the world is running out of worlds with which to make titles for films & whatnot. This year we had Up and Up in the Air as well as A Single Man and A Serious Man. We had banality in titling like Paranormal Activity and Monsters vs. Aliens and Moon. We had a film about Coco Chanel before she was famous (Coco Before Chanel) and after (Coco Chanel) and more movies with numbers in the title that one knows what to do with: (500) Days of Summer, 17 Again, District 9, Saw VI, Friday the 13th, Paris 36, The Nine Lives of Marion Barry as well as (in 2009 nonetheless) TWO films named after the number between eight and ten: the animated 9 and the ostentatiously self-indulgent Nine.
Personally, I am a fan of the Oscars upping the Best Picture nominees to 10. They did it in the 30s & 40s and it will probably increase viewership of the show itself so, whatever. The only unfortunate bit is this was the wrong year in which to do it. Now, the Academy had no way of anticipating that last year when they made this announcement but the 10 films nominated show the strain this type of behavior can elicist. The Blind Side? Really? . . . Really? But it does create an official Academy Top 10 list. And so, as not to be left out, here are my Top 10 movies of the year in alphabetical order.
TOP 10 FILMS OF 2009
Anvil! The Story of Anvil (Sacha Gervasi) Documentary about the Canadian heavy metal band Anvil. Now in their fifties they were once hailed as the “demi-gods of Canadian metal,” influenced a musical generation that includes Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax, despite never hitting the big time. Following a calamitous European tour they set off to record their 13th album in one last attempt to fulfill their boyhood dreams. You probably didn’t see Anvil! The Story of Anvil but you should whether you like heavy metal or not. This isn’t a movie about music, it’s about musicians. Musicians sacrificing all to perform the music they love. It is funny, sad, & ultimately heartwarming. More uplifting than the false notes of The Blind Side and funnier than Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire. Great film. FULL DISCLOSURE: When I saw the film here in L.A. it was immediately followed by a live performance by the band. So my appreciation may be slightly skewed. But, objectively, it is a great movie.
Away We Go (Sam Mendes) A couple (John Krasinski & Maya Rudolph) expecting their first child travel around the U.S. in order to find a perfect place to start their family. I was so confident this would be a breakout movie this year. And I’m still amazed very few people are talking about it. An all-star cast including Jeff Daniels, Allison Janney, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jim Gaffigan, Catherine O’Hara, and this kid: . The script rings true and manages to get sentimental without making you want to vomit in your mouth. Grab it on Netflix. FULL DISCLOSURE: Granted, a story about a couple awaiting their first child was more than a little bit on the nose for me.
District 9 (Neill Blomkamp) An extraterrestrial race crashes to Earth when their spaceship breaks down and are forced to live in slum-like conditions. Certainly the most original film of the year, District 9 has something for everyone. Blomkamp is a master of the slow-burn. Allegory is rough at the best of times but film never feels preachy. Quite the opposite, it presents its characters in very clear and matter-of-fact way. You don’t have to like these people/aliens, but you do. You find yourself caring and rooting for these aliens in a way you wouldn’t think possible. They are so clearly non-human but the visual effects aid the story and suck you into this world. Brilliant.
An Education (Lone Scherfig) Coming-of-age story about a teenage girl (Carey Mulligan) in 1960s suburban London, and how her life changes with the arrival of a playboy (Peter Sarsgaard) nearly twice her age. You know it all has to go wrong. This teenager can’t end up with the older man. And he can’t be as charming as he seems. But what makes this film great is Nick Hornby’s script and what Carey Mulligan is able to do with it. Mulligan never asks for your approval or affection, she presents a girl slightly ahead of her time who wants the whole world. You don’t watch for the plot, you watch for the characters. And they are wonderful to watch.
The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow) Playing a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse in the chaos of war, an elite Army bomb squad unit must come together in a city where everyone is a potential enemy and every object could be a deadly bomb. It’s not the MOST depressing movie this year, however it IS the most depressing movie not based on the novel Push by Sapphire. Well, maybe depressing is the wrong word but you won’t walk out of The Hurt Locker tapping your toes. In fact, when my friend Keith & I saw it, we had to immediately get a Jamba Juice to level out. Jeremy Renner earns his Oscar nomination with both barrels. Again, he doesn’t seek your love or affection, he creates a fully rounded man, warts & all. Not for the squeamish but a must-see for all others.
Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino) In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as “The Basterds” are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. Historical inaccuracy, graphic violence, Quentin Tarintino. If any of the above make you see red, then stay clear. But if you can let the first two by, the third will bring you one of the most glorious times at the movies you will ever have. Inglourious Basterds was the only film I saw this year I would’ve readily bought another ticket to immediately after seeing it the first time. Tarantino pulls off his vision of World War II because he commits to it completely. There are no half-measures, nothing is only somewhat thought through, this is a complete world. And it is completely wonderful.
Mystery Team (Dan Eckman) A group of former Encyclopedia Brown-style child-detectives struggle to solve an adult mystery. You definitely didn’t see this movie. It played at Sundance then in very limited release in New York and some other cities. I was lucky enough to catch it at a small screening in Beverly Hills (a screening at which so many people wanted in, the theatre added a second screening immediately after the first). The comedy team Derrick consists of performers Dominic Dierkes, D C Pierson, & Donald Glover, director Dan Eckman, and producer Meggie McFadden (all five write). They have been a YouTube sensation for a few years now and their first foray into major motion pictures isn’t without its flaws. But it is uproariously funny and presents a unique voice and point-of-view. And with so few good comedy films coming out each year, you should hunt this one down.
A Serious Man (Joel Coen & Ethan Coen) A black comedy centered on Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a Midwestern professor in the mid-60s who watches his life unravel when his wife prepares to leave him because his inept brother won’t move out of the house. Roger Ebert called A Serious Man “the kind of movie you get to make after you win an Oscar.” I call it the best movie of the year. Dealing with issues of control, action, and responsibility this film is simultaneous hilarious and startling. It certainly is a very personal expression from the Brothers Coen and for that reason some will find it dense and/or inaccessible. But if you want to see what genius can do when given free reign, you will not be disappointed. This film haunts me still. Look at the parking lot, Larry.
Up (Pete Docter) By tying thousands of balloon to his home, 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen (Ed Asner) sets out to fulfill his lifelong dream to see the wilds of South America. Right after lifting off, however, he learns he isn’t alone on his journey, since Russell (Jordan Nagai), a wilderness explorer 70 years his junior, has inadvertently become a stowaway on the trip. Some may this Up is depressing or too heavy for kids. I say, don’t under-estimate your progeny. Yes, it starts sad. And, yes, it deals with weighty issues. But you will seldom find more honesty and less condescension in a “children’s” film. Pixar out does itself yet again in both animation and writing.
Up in the Air (Jason Reitman) With a job that has him traveling around the country firing people, Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) leads an empty life out of a suitcase, until his company does the unexpected: ground him. One of the things I like the most about Jason Reitman as a director is he never condescends to his audience. This story is simple, the brilliance comes in the acting and how Reitman handles his actors. Clooney just gets better and better with each film he’s in and Up in the Air is no exception. But the great find of this movie is Anna Kendrick. I had to be reminded she was in the sophomoric Camp (2003) and she’s come a long way from that film (in which, I should say, she is a standout). There is little to say here because the film says it al. Just see it already.
Other very good movies I saw this year and would recommend are: Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The Informant!, Paranormal Activity, Sherlock Holmes, A Single Man, Star Trek, Taken and Zombieland (Uncle John Movie of the Year).
As for the films not mentioned above nominated for Best Picture . . .
Avatar (James Cameron) A paraplegic marine (Sam Worthington) dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home. It’s FernGully: The Last Rainforest meets Pocahontas meets Dances with Wolves meets Titanic meets The Smurfs. The story would fit on a matchbook but the visuals are hard to argue with. The acting is hackey at best but the visuals are hard to argue with. It’s very long but the visuals are hard to argue with. The score is a Titanic rehash but the visuals are hard to argue with. And the visuals are hard to argue with.
The Blind Side (John Lee Hancock) Have you seen the trailer? Okay, good, we’ll move on.
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (Lee Daniels) Loneliness, despair, guilt, rape/incest, poverty all wrapped in some very good acting. And director Lee Daniels does keep it from being overwhelming. But it just is hard to watch. PREDICTION: In two years, look for the Broadway show Precious!: The Musical: Based on the Film Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire. Music & lyrics by Stephen Schwartz.
As usual, I saw some great short films this year (defined by me as any film under 60 minutes in length). Most of which from ESPN’s on-going documentary series 30 for 30. Most notably Barry Levinson’s film about the Baltimore Colts marching band The Band That Wouldn’t Die. Fascinating story even if you’re not into football. I would also recommend the sci-fi short Panic Attack! directed by Fede Alvarez made for $300, the short went viral on YouTube and garnered Alvarez a $30 million deal to make it into a feature.
Also, Disney released a Christmas special called Prep & Landing about Santa’s recon team of elves. It used to be available on Hulu but it seems to’ve been taken down. It was a real treat. You can learn more about it here .
