I love the Oscars. I know they are kind of meaningless but I love movies (shocker) and I like seeing all the actors and directors and it’s fancy. This year I’ve seen 8 out of the 10 best picture nominees. I haven’t seen The Fighter because I already saw and loved Raging Bull so I don’t feel obligated to watch any more boxing movies. I also haven’t seen The King’s Speech and I’m sorry, I’m sure it’s a great movie but it’s just not appealing to me. Maybe I will try to watch it before Sunday because it’s going to win everything and I’m going to be bitter. And maybe I’ll end up loving it. But for now, here are my thoughts on the other nominees (I promise not to talk too long about all of them).
Black Swan was a thoroughly entertaining film. I was never bored. I’m really not into Natalie Portman but she didn’t bother me as much as usual. I really like Darren Arronofksy and the film definitely had a lot of his trademark touches. Plus, how beautiful is Mila Kunis? Very beautiful. Excellent cinematography, editing, and directing. Only the writing falls a little flat at times, and sometimes seems like it’s confusing just for the sake of being confusing. In an interview with MTV, Arronofsky said that originally he was developing Black Swan and his 2008 The Wrestler as the same movie. He said, “I realized pretty quickly that taking two worlds like wrestling and ballet was much too much for one movie. So I guess my dream is that some art theater will play the films as a double feature some day.” I really, really loved The Wrestler so I’d be interested to watch them both back to back, and I definitely see how they have overlapping themes (failure, hurting yourself for success). Definitely one of my favorite films of the year, and I’m impressed that Natalie Portman learned so much ballet in such a short amount of time. And that’s the last nice thing I have to say about her.
(Next is The Fighter which like I said, I haven’t seen.)
I think the new (as of last year) system of nominating 10 films for best picture instead of 5 is a little silly, because at least 5 of the films don’t really belong on the list. I loved Inception, but it’s not really best picture material. Still, it’s a fun film that’s difficult to wrap your brain around. I love Leonardo DiCaprio, just like every other girl my age who grew up with Titanic, and he is awesome in this movie, as usual. Also, Joseph Gordon Levitt. Even though the story can get convoluted, I always appreciate when a movie pushes the boundaries, even if it causes it to fail. Props for trying to do something different. Also, great film techniques to take us in and out of the many layers of dreams.
More like The Kids Are Mediocre. Seriously, this does not belong on the best picture list. And Mark Ruffalo is taking up a spot as a best supporting actor nominee that should have gone to Andrew Garfield. More on that later. I guess it’s nominated because Hollywood loves to pat itself on the back for not being racist (see: Crash) and for not being homophobic. Yes, this is a mainstream movie about a lesbian couple raising children, so it SEEMS like it’s progressive but guess what? IT’S NOT! Come on. Julianne Moore’s character repeatedly cheats on her wife with Mark Ruffalo (I can’t even be bothered to look up the characters’ names) because I guess even though she’s a lesbian, what she really wanted and needed was a man. And what the kids really wanted and needed was a dad, not 2 moms. And everything works out with no consequences at the end, just like a typical heterosexual romantic comedy (see: Did You Hear About The Morgans?). Ok. Great. Moving on.
(Haven’t seen The King’s Speech.)
I LOVED this film. Originally I only wanted to see it because I love Danny Boyle, the story didn’t sound too appealing but I went to see it anyway and I was totally surprised and blown away. I’m not the biggest James Franco fan (I mean, how can you not roll your eyes at him at least a little bit, he’s teaching a class about himself!) but he was fantastic. I don’t know what the real Aron Ralston is like, but Franco puts so much personality into the character that I’d like to believe that’s exactly how Ralston is. Plus, to get through a situation like that, you have to be! Wonderful directing and editing, as usual for Danny Boyle. And I cried tears of relief when he finally made it out (spoiler alert?) while Sigur Rós played. What a beautiful scene. I really think this film is underrated.
What is there to say about Toy Story 3? It’s cute, heartwarming, sad, and colorful like most Pixar movies. I remember the first Toy Story from my childhood like most probably do, and in this newest installment, Andy is packing to go away to college. This resonated with my friends and I who saw this film just after graduating college. Which of course is not the same thing as first going to college, but that’s not the point. Growing up, moving on, leaving your toys behind you, it’s depressing. Also, how often do you see a best picture nominee with a 3 at the end of its title?
Oh man. The Coen Brothers! Jeff Bridges drinking whiskey on a horse with an eye patch! There is a lot to love about True Grit. Roger Deakins, the cinematographer who often works with the Coen brothers, did an incredible job, as usual. Some of the shots in this film are breathtaking, despite taking place in the middle of nowhere. The acting was wonderful. Hailee Steinfeld is FOURTEEN YEARS OLD and awesome. Like most Coen brothers productions, there was always some odd, uncomfortable humor that would pop up once in a while, which I enjoyed. The directing is flawless, of course. Even though I was admittedly a little bored in the beginning, the last 45 minutes made up for it. Overall, a solid movie.
Ugh, Winter’s Bone. “Have you seen my daddy?” and something about meth and the Ozarks for about two hours. This film was really hyped up and I swear I wanted to like it but I was just not feeling it. I don’t even have any good reasons. Sorry.
I am in love with The Social Network. WOW. Each aspect of the film fits so perfectly with the rest of it. Of course, Aaron Sorkin’s dialog is unbelievable and hilarious. But this script needed good acting to carry it out, and Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield nail it without any problems. (Also, lol Justin Timberlake. You know what’s cool? A BILLION dollars.) Good writing combined with good acting needed good directing and David Fincher knew exactly what he was doing. It’s funny because in interviews Fincher keeps saying how this movie wasn’t that great and he doesn’t understand why it’s getting so much attention. Relax, Fincher, you know it’s a good movie. Also, I saw David Fincher speak at the New York Film Festival and he said that he shot each scene hundreds of times until it was absolutely perfect. I can’t even imagine how long that must have taken and how much patience everyone must have had. But it really shows. It is absolutely perfect, just like he wanted it to be. You almost forget that it’s a movie about rich bored white kids at Harvard who invented Facebook and then fight over billions of dollars. I don’t know, the making of this film was seriously just magic. Incredible. Also why was Andrew Garfield not nominated for best supporting actor?! Come on. He was so good! “Sorry my Prada’s at the cleaners along with my hoodie and my fuck-you-flip flops you pretentious douchebag.” and “You better lawyer up, asshole.” Good thing we gave that spot to Mark Mediocre Ruffalo who sat around the movie the whole time looking scruffy on a motorcycle. I can’t give this movie enough love. I hope it wins everything it’s nominated for. And I’m tired of everybody saying “The Social Network should win, but The King’s Speech will win.” Well then why can’t The Social Network just win if we’re all in agreement here? Because The King’s Speech is straight up Oscar bait so it will get what it set out for. Even though The Social Network is so timely and on point and indicative of our current state of being. And the final scene is just crazy awesome and wonderful and I don’t have enough words for it. Jesse Eisenberg sits at his computer after all the lawsuits and everything finally quiets down. He opens Facebook, HIS OWN INVENTION, and sends a friend request to some girl he screwed over and apparently still cares about. “Baby You’re A Rich Man” by The Beatles starts playing and Eisenberg sits there continually refreshing Facebook, waiting to see if the girl will accept his request. That action is so inane and so specific to all of us who are addicted to the Internet and give so much importance to social networking sites. And yet, even the man who created it (ok, in this fictionalized version) can’t rise above the power of Facebook. Even though he’s a rich man.
So, I think it’s clear which one is my favorite. Which films will you be rooting for on Sunday?
The Canted Angle 