Best Picture opinions

Inception - Inventive, entertaining, popcorn action drama thriller. That's how I would describe the movie. Sometimes it gets tripped up on it's own bullshit, but as complicated as it was I found it to be pretty straightforward. To be honest I probably couldn't tell you exactly what happens in the movie in fear of confusing myself like I so happily tried to avoid. The big question is do I think this deserves the best picture Oscar? No, unfortunately. It was a great movie and in my top 5 of the year, but it felt rushed in spots and long-winded in other which shouldn't be case for an almost three hour movie. This could have been paced a little better, and that might have been the tipping point for me.

The Fighter - This is more than a boxing movie, as most boxing movies are, but this is a different case. In most movies like this the main character would ditch his drug-dealing brother, controlling money hungry mother, and bitchy family members. Maybe that's what he should of done, but in this film (based on a true story of course), he doesn't and still makes it to the top. I think that's a refreshing angle in a film like this. There's nothing storybook about this story and it doesn't really hit any of the storybook notes along the line, but at the end I still cared if he won and was excited that he did. Out of all the movies of the year this one was the most surprisingly good for me, and I can't think of a damn thing I didn't like, but the Oscar does not go to The Fighter.


True Grit - It was said beforehand that this wasn't the typical Coen brother movie, and that much of their signature humor was lost in this film. I completely disagree. This was the Coens brothers take on a western, and even if you have to read between the lines, all their signatures are there. I laughed my ass off throughout this movie, and when I wasn't their was plenty of human drama, action, or even scenery to enjoy. I think the scenery is really the last thing I loved about this movie which says a lot. Usually westerns are visual feats, and sometimes the characters play backseat to it. In this movie the scenery was beautiful, but you really had to quit listening and watching the characters to enjoy. Anyways, it's really a testament to their talent that they can make a western in 2011 a box office hit AND best picture contender. Do I think it should win the statue? No.

The Kids Are All Right - This is a good comedy/drama bogged down by weird story choices. I don't want to spoil the movie too much, but in the end you're supposed to want to see the two women together, but with the way the other characters played out, and the way they just brush them off in the end, I didn't. As much as I did like this movie, when I'm sitting there unsatisfied with a happy ending there are a lot of problems with your movie. I felt Annette Bening's character was underdeveloped and underused, almost a background character in this film, and her Oscar nod is surely based on past work. There were times were you could clearly see her struggling to act out the scene. You could take my criticisms as being frustrated the narrative wasn't cliche, but usually the cliches are there so the story is well rounded instead of lopsided. A little more time in the oven and this could have been a contender, but the way it turned out the damn thing shouldn't even be nominated.

Toy Story 3 - Why is this nominated? I liked it, but the emotional impact just wasn't there. It almost felt like the tearjerker scenes were thrown in there out of expectation and not in any organic way. The characters themselves FEEL like toys this time around instead of actual character. Let me explain; this movie is mostly typical kids move shenanigans. The few scenes meant to make you cry feel out of place with the rest of the film, and are actually relying on your emotional attachment to the character from the previous movies. I'm sorry, but you can't expect me to give a damn about these toys because of Toy Story 1 and 2. I wanted to feel the attachment to them in Toy Story 3. If you cut out every scene in the movie except for the heart wrenching tearjerker scenes you'd feel the exact same impact (had you seen the other two). To me, that means this movie failed, and mostly mostly an experiment in making movie.


As you can see I haven't seen all of the movies nominated. From what I've seen I wouldn't give any of them Best Picture, but I wouldn't be unhappy with a Fighter or True Grit win. My prediction is the Social Network though.