...My 2011 Oscar Thoughts...

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1. The Social Network
I saw this on a plane, and I feel like if I saw it in the theatre it'd be in my top 5 of the last 5 years (see my list below).  I feel like this movie had everything, but unfortunately it looks like it embellished the truth pretty significantly, so that's disappointing. But oh well, who cares. I don't. The score, I should mention, was my favorite since Wall-E.

2. Toy Story 3
At the time when I saw this, I declared it my favorite all-time animated film.  There hasn't been an animated movie that has brought out the kind of emotional reaction and connection like this one did, ever. On a side note, I am not confident about Cars 2.

3. 127 Hours
I put off seeing this one for so long because I knew the story - i saw the hour 20/20 or whatever it was with Tom Brokaw and Aron Ralston a few years ago. I knew about the arm, the fall, the tendon, the water, the whole thing...But this really was an achievement by Boyle more than anything else, he really drove the story home with tons of clever film techniques that I don't think anyone would have imagined - I won't give things away, and I don't know technical film-speak, but he made a story we all know, and sorta dread reliving, into a compelling 1.5 hours.

4. The Kids Are All Right
Totally unique look at gay marriage and gay relationships. It wasn't about the troubles of life b/c the couple was gay, it was about the troubles of relationships, and how confusing they are in general. I think in the long run, if people watch this en masse, it could do more for the same-sex marriage cause than any other movie to this point has.

5. True Grit
Like every Coen Brothers movie, this was entertaining from start to finish. See my sub-Coen Brothers list below.  If I could write one sentence as compelling as every single line in a Coen Brothers movie, I'd be such a happy fella.

6. The King’s Speech
The acting performances were incredible, and the story was really great. I had 2 British people watching this movie about 7 rows in front of me, and they were the only people laughing at some of the jokes. I think I would have liked this more if I was British.  Royalty is silly, though, isn't it?

7. The Fighter
I spend my whole life avoiding conversations like basically every conversation that took place in this movie.  What a painful existence - I don't mean poor, I mean completely happily ignorant. So happily ignorant they don't even know they're all unhappy.

8. Inception
I liked Inception more than this, but it's such a hard film to put into place compared to the rest of them. It was a visual spectacle, it was the token Summer nominee that will be part of the 10 films as long as there are 10 nominees, it deserves accolades but I don't think it deserves Best Picture nomination. It was a cool story, but and as I said before it sorta did break new ground visually...basically I don't have anything bad to say about it, but it wasn't what is usually a Best Picture nomination.

9. Winter's Bone
This one is so clearly the result of the 10 nominations. This was Frozen River, it was Vera Drake - it wasn't a Best Picture nominee for real, it was just a few good & great acting performances. I can see how this book could be astounding, but as a film it was just so-so.

10. Black Swan
If Natalie Portman wasn't exploring her sexuality on the big screen, this movie would have been nominated for a Razzie.  How many consecutive conversations between The Swan & the Director did we need to hear him say cliche after cliche about her needing to "let go?" See my sub-Worst Best Picture Nominees since '00 list below.


(If it's in red, I didn't see it)
Actor 

1. Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
2. Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
3. James Franco, 127 Hours
4. Jeff Bridges, True Grit
5. Javier Bardem, Biutiful 


Actress

1. Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
2. Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
3. Natalie Portman, Black Swan
4. Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
5. Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

S. Actor

1. Christian Bale, The Fighter
2. Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech
3. Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
4. John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone
5. Jeremy Renner, The Town

S. Actress

1. Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
2. Melissa Leo, The Fighter
3. Amy Adams, The Fighter
4. Helena Bonham Carter, The Kings Speech
5. Jackie Weaver, Animal Kingdom

Director

1. Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
2. David Fincher, The Social Network
3. Joel & Ethan Coen, True Grit
4. David O. Russell, The Fighter
5. Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan

No Danny Boyle in this category is dumb. Dumb Dumb Dumb. I would say that his direction and film-making in this year was outdone by nobody - the story of 127 Hours was carried completely by the direction. The acting was good, but not as good as the direction. So stunned.

Original Screenplay

1. Inception
2. The Kids Are All Right
3. The King’s Speech
4. The Fighter
5. Another Year

Adapted Screenplay

1. Toy Story 3
2. The Social Network
3. 127 Hours
4. True Grit
5. Winter’s Bone

Animated

1. Toy Story 3
In the category, there is no way anyone could compete with this. Pixar is magical, the characters are iconic, and the story was fluid and fantastic. This is a no brainer, and the Academy will agree.

2. How to Train Your Dragon
Who names movies? Who titles films? This is a terrible name for a really great story. It was a funny & caring story, and the name of the movie is terrible, which I think turned off viewers. I am biased, it wasn't as good as Tangled, but it was good.

3. The Illusionist
I am completely baffled by this selection. Triplets of Belleville was really entertaining from start to finish, the story was quirky and made sense. This story was nonsense. It was, as Ryan said, a movie you like if you are trying to prove something about yourself. It was mostly boring, I didn't fall asleep, but the connection between the main characters made no sense.  Visually, the only interesting thing was the vehicles - this guy loves transportation (bikes, trains, cars, etc), but otherwise it was a yawn, and in ryan's case, a snooze.

I also want to say that it is effin nonsense that Tangled wasn't nominated. The scene on the water with the floating candles was a remarkable achievement - one of those scenes that animators spend months and months working on, and one of those scenes that changes the landscape of the genre.  I am not sure if there was something going on, some kind of bias, but it was really stupid that it was skipped over, especially for The Illusionist.



* My Top 10 Films in the Last 5 Years:
10. Waltz With Bashir
9. Up
8. The Social Network
7. Inglorious Basterds
6. The Cove
5. Atonement
4. There Will Be Blood
3. Toy Story 3
2. The Hangover
1. The Dark Knight


* Top 10 Coen Brothers Movies:
10. Hudsucker Proxy
9. Miller's Crossing
8. Intolerable Cruelty
7. Raising Arizona
6. True Grit
5. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
4. Burn After Reading
3. A Serious Man
2. Fargo
1. The Big Lebowski


* Top 5 Worst Best Picture Nominees Since '00:
5. Master & Commander
4. Black Swan
3. The Blind Side
2. Curious Case of Benjamin Button
1. Crash - and it WON!?!