Some Pre-Oscar Thoughts

Just my own thoughts on some of the categories before we get into it. The ceremony's Wikipedia page has the list of nominations.

BEST PICTURE
Having finally seen all 10 of the films nominated, I don't think the Academy has really made their case that we now need 10 nominees. The nominees aren't as bad as last year, but having 10 of them just seems silly.

Of the 10 nominated, I'm torn between Inglourious Basterds, which I found the most purely cinematic and the most enjoyable, and The Hurt Locker, which was a riveting study in dehumanization. I haven't made up my mind yet.

Unfortunately, Avatar will probably win. And Avatar stinks. It's just a bad, bad movie. I'll have more to say about it Wednesday in Film Week, but for now I'll just say that somewhat pretty imagery does not make up for that awful story. At all.

Otherwise, I thought Up in the Air and Precious were excellent films. District 9 was a very good serious science fiction movie, even with the rather heavy-handed and obvious symbolism. I don't know if I'd have nominated it, personally. The Blind Side is a nice movie that is destined for endless repeats on Lifetime or TNT; it's not bad, but it's more solid than great. And you all know I love Up.

I thought A Serious Man was great, not least of which because so many people seem so bewildered by it. I have no idea how An Education got the nomination, frankly. Cute movie, but why pick this one over Crazy Heart, which was excellent?

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Jeff Bridges really deserves it; he's a great actor and this was a great performance. It wasn't flashy, and Crazy Heart refreshingly doesn't dive into the cliche twists I expected, so that was nice.

I have not seen A Single Man, though I'm dying to. Jeremy Renner was very good; I've liked him in movies before, and I'm glad he's nominated. Morgan Freeman was better than I've seen him in years in Invictus, partially because he wasn't being asked to repeat his Shawshank Redemption performance yet again. And I liked George Clooney a lot in Up in the Air. Clooney really seems to be a polarizing actor for a lot of people I come across. I think he deserved the nomination, but I don't expect him to win. Bridges deserves it more.

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
I've not seen Julie and Julia or The Last Station. Of the three nominations remaining, Carey Mulligan's baffles me. Not that she's bad in An Education, but she didn't particularly stand out, either. I think it could have been a number of actresses in the role and it wouldn't have mattered. Nick Hornby has an ear for dialogue (if not one for third act resolution, as evidenced by nearly every novel he's written), and I think the dialogue carries Mulligan rather than the other way around.

Gabourey Sidibe was very sympathetic in Precious in a low-key performance. And Sandra Bullock was actually very good in The Blind Side. I've only ever liked her in movies very occasionally, and for 2009, I liked her in two. Her character and performance were the center of The Blind Side, and I think (and I almost can't believe I'm saying this about her) with a lesser actress, we wouldn't be seeing a Best Picture nomination for that movie. She certainly commands the screen. If she wins, and many are saying she will, I won't be surprised or disappointed, honestly.

DIRECTING
I really want Kathryn Bigelow to win this one. Partially because The Hurt Locker was just so enveloping, and partially because I don't want to hear any more of James Cameron's "King of the World" jackassery. Plus, what a great fuck you to Cameron, to give it to his ex-wife. And hey, she'd be the first woman to win this award. But in all seriousness, more than anything else, I think she was the best of the year.

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
I've only seen three of the performances. Matt Damon was good in Invictus, but not the best. Stanley Tucci I found mannered and overly-measured nearly to the point of cartoonishness in the terrible The Lovely Bones. If anyone other than Christoph Waltz wins, it will be a crime.

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
It almost seems like Penelope Cruz, talented though she is, is really just nominated for the one (and the best) musical number in Nine. Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick both were very good in Up in the Air. Maggie Gyllenhaal was very good in Crazy Heart; with each year, I admire her more and more as an actress. But Mo'Nique's performance in Precious was just towering.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
I've not managed to see any of them.

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
I liked Bill Plympton's description of Fantastic Mr. Fox as "anti-visual." That pretty much sums it up. Though there were some things I liked about it, it really seemed concerned with being too ugly to look at. I wouldn't have nominated this at all, especially over Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Coraline is better, I think, than people give it credit for. Up and The Princess and the Frog are both excellent.

But the best animated feature this year, by far, is The Secret of Kells. I'm amazed and overjoyed that it even got a nomination, but brother, does it deserve it. It won't win, but it's an astounding piece of work, very Richard Williams-influenced, and animated so very well and very much in glorious 2-D.

SCREENPLAY (Adapted)
I wonder if they can resist giving the award to Nick Hornby, scribe of shallow populism. I've not seen In the Loop. I have no opinion on this one. Up in the Air was well-written, I thought.

SCREENPLAY (Original)
Honestly, my choice here would be A Serious Man. But the best original screenplay this year was the unnominated, unheralded World's Greatest Dad.

ART DIRECTION
I've only seen two of the films nominated, and I thought Nine was straight-up ugly and needlessly dour, and I don't think Avatar deserves any awards with the words "art" and "direction" in the name since the film has neither art nor direction.

CINEMATOGRAPHY
I've seen all of the nominees except for The White Ribbon. Nice to see Harry Potter nominated; I think it deserves the recognition. The best nominee, I think, is Inglourious Basterds, but I'll always pull for Robert Richardson.

COSTUME DESIGN
I've only seen the over-nominated Nine, and... no.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Anvil! should be on this list. I've only seen Food, Inc. and The Cove, both of which are excellent. If either one wins, that would make me happy. But I've yet to see the other three nominees, which could also be great. Need to get cracking here.

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
As always, haven't seen a single one, so no opinion.

FILM EDITING
Again, I'll go for Inglourious Basterds.

MAKEUP
I only saw Star Trek, and I wouldn't give it the award, to be honest.

MUSIC (SCORE)
How many times is James Horner going to keep selling the same score over and over again? His score for Avatar was, if this makes sense, surprisingly unsurprising. Just bland, with a lot of the same motifs he's been repeating since Star Trek II. I was much more impressed by Michael Giacchino's work for Up, but from the nominees, I think Alexandre Desplat's whimsical music for Fantastic Mr. Fox is the best. I've got pieces from it on my iPod; it's very good.

MUSIC (SONG)
They nominated two songs from The Princess and the Frog; both were good, but neither were my favorites from that movie. (Those were the rollicking "When We're Human," the delicate "Ma Belle Evangeline," and the dark "Friends on the Other Side.") The new song from Nine was bland, and I still hate that they cut out nearly all of my favorite songs from the musical (and didn't seem to get the point, either). I don't know the song from Paris 36, but let's face it, the song from Crazy Heart is the best one they could go with. It's actually not my favorite from the film, either, but it's pretty fantastic.

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
French Roast is well-animated, if a little heavy-handed. The Lady and the Reaper is very funny. Logorama is pretty amazing. And I adore Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty. But the clear winner is A Matter of Loaf and Death, because it's Wallace & Gromit.

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
Haven't seen any.

SOUND EDITING
SOUND MIXING
VISUAL EFFECTS
I don't much care, except for my usual eye rolling at only three nominees for Visual Effects being chosen. Give me a break.