The Oscars

It's been a while since I last did a thorough write-up on all the Best Picture Oscar nominees. In the years since I did this last, I did see all the nominees, but not with enough time to write about all of them (last year, I saw one of the nominees a few hours before the ceremony started).

The most impressive scene I saw on film in 2012 (from Flight)

With that not-so-great introduction, here is how I rank this year's contenders, from best to worst:

Zero Dark Thirty - It was difficult for me to decide on my favorite movie of the year. It was really a 1A and 1B for me, but I decided to give the edge to this film. It's not the most entertaining film of the year, not by a long-shot, so I could see how people would not like it. It's methodical though, the steps involved in going through the process of tracking down Usama Bin Laden. The missteps on the way, the close calls, the whole idea of the characters not knowing if what they are doing is of much use. Like The Hurt Locker, it has a realistic feel to it that not everyone likes to get when they go see a movie. I, however, like that kind of thing.

Argo - Argo is like Zero Dark Thirty on a sugar rush. They are in the same ballpark, but they are very different. They are both based on true events, both involve trying to get people in the Middle East, but while Zero Dark Thirty tells of a long, methodical process, trying to keep level heads while surrounded by madness, Argo is a manic, frantic movie, trying to get things done very quickly, involving Holywood, a fake movie, and a guy who many said was crazy to try what he did. It's great entertainment, and while I thought the end was a little too Hollywood, I walked out of the theater thinking it was a fun ride, and almost too bizarre to be true. If you see this movie, you must stay for the end credits.

Lincoln - The first 5 minutes of Lincoln worried me. Black soldiers reciting the Gettysburg Address to Lincoln has a tone of over-the-topness to it that Speilberg can sometimes get into and that concerned me. Thankfully the rest of the film wasn't like the first 5 minutes. Were there some moments that seemed Spielbergian? Of course; he likes to tug on the heartstrings from time to time. What made the film though, was Daniel-Day Lewis. After seeing Malcolm X, my image of what Malcolm X looked like, is what Denzel Washington looked like in that movie. After seeing Lincoln, my image of what Lincoln looks like, is Daniel-Day Lewis. I don't think I've seen a person become a well-known person so well as he did in this film. Mind you, there is no good record of what Lincoln sounded like, but I thought his performance was mind-blowing. That alone was enough for me to put the film in my top five of the year.

Amour - If you knew nothing about this film going in, you would guess that it's about love. It is; but not the kind of love typically seen in movies. This is not some lovey-dovey, romantic movie. This film is about the love of an elderly couple, as they approach the end of their lives. I liked this movie a lot, but I can't watch it again. There were scenes that hit too close to home, that reminded me of the last few days of my mother's life. Like Daniel-Day Lewis in Lincoln, the performance of Emanuelle Riva was amazing. I hope she wins the Oscar. She wasn't inhabiting a 'known' person like Daniel-Day was, but she was inhabiting someone we have all known. This is not the fastest-paced movie you'll ever see, and there were some scenes that seemed to be put in for no real reason. This is one of the rare times that I felt unnecessary scenes were needed. Without them, the movie would have been just too difficult to get through. I would have rated this higher than Lincoln, except for the ending (which I won't spoil here). It was a bit abrupt and I was a bit thrown when it faded to black.

Django Unchained - I liked this movie, but Quentin Tarantino has done better. Of the Best Picture nominees, this was the one I was most looking forward to. I'm one of those Tarantino people, who, as soon as I saw a Django trailer for the first time, pulled a Liz Lemon - I want to go to there. The 'there' in this case being any theater that was showing this film. I didn't love it. I liked it, but didn't love it. I don't have the same issues other people have had with this film's violence, or use the N-word. I had a problem with it's length. A good 30-45 minutes could have been cut and it would have been a better film. I wanted to love this movie going in. I did love this movie for the first 90 minutes. I loved it when I thought it had reached it's climax; but then it went on, and my love of the movie turned more and more into a like of it, as I thought to myself, why didn't he just end it there? I wish he would have. It might have made my top three.

Beasts of the Southern Wild - I didn't like this as much as everyone else seemed to. I saw this at a free screening (like I did with Argo), and the audience applauded at the end. I don't know if I'd go that far. Yes, it was very good for what it was - a low-budget movie with untrained actors. But what if it wasn't low-budget? What if it starred trained actors? Would it be considered to be just as good? I just kept thinking that if this exact same movie was made to look exactly as it did, but it was made by a major studio, cost significantly more money to make, and had someone like, I don't know, Will Smith, cast as the father, if it would have gotten the same applause from the crowd I saw it with, or from critics overall. I don't think a movie should be judged by its budget, or its cast, but by the end product. In my mind, this was a good movie, but if the Oscars had 5 nominations instead of 9, I don't think it would have made the cut. It's like when Up got a best picture nomination; it's the movie that people want to give a nod to, even though they all know it has no chance at winning.

Life of Pi - In my view, Life of Pi was this year's Avatar. It was a visual spectacle which could have used a bit more substance. The story, in and of itself was good, but a bit drawn out, and a good 30 minutes could have been cut from the film without losing much of the narrative. That being said, I wished I had seen this in 3D. I am not a fan of 3D so I saw this in 2D, but I kind of wish I had risked the headaches 3D films often give me and seen it in that format. The visuals were stunning, even in 2D, and I can't imagine how good they would have looked in 3D. I'm sure this will win some technical awards, but a Best Picture, it is not. Not by a long-shot, in my opinion.

Silver Linings Playbook - I don't get why this movie was so loved. I went into this knowing nothing about what the film was about. The only thing I knew is that critics seemed to love it, people seemed to love it, and so I thought it would be awesome. It wasn't. Again, it was good for what it was - a romantic comedy/drama. Was it edgier than your typical romantic comedy? Yes, but it still had the quirky side characters many romantic comedies have, it has a major plot point that has romantic shlockyness written all over it, and (spoiler alert) it ended just like every romantic comedy does; everyone ends up happy. It had an edge I would have liked David O. Russell to go with a little more; one of the leads suffering from a serious psychological disorder, the other also coming from a dark place. I liked that aspect of it, but as it got going it just kind of fell into typical rom-com fare, and that lost points for me. Was it good for what it was? Sure. Was it deserving of a best picture nomination? Not in my opinion.

Les Misérables - I bashed Les Misérables a bit in my last blog post, and I will do much more of that here. Before I say more, I should note that the only movie musical I've liked in the last decade, was Dreamgirls. That out of the way, I can now say that I was completely disappointed in Les Misérables. I didn't care for the directing - the insane use of close ups, while showing almost no background. You're in Paris, for God's sake, show some of Paris! I don't want to get started on the singing, so I won't. I'll just say that the reason I liked Dreamgirls and no other recent musicals is that, in that film, real singers were cast. The leading characters in Les Misérables were not played by singers, but Hollywood stars. I'll bet if the guy who directed Beasts of the Southern Wild were asked to helm this, he would have got a bunch of unknown singers, who were probably good, and it would have been a better, albeit very low budget film. I don't know why this film got a Best Picture nomination. There are several films I would have put above it, that were denied a nomination. I expected much more from this film, and was disappointed by it.

So there it is. My thoughts on the Best Picture Nominee for the 2012 Oscars. I do want to point out a few performances that impressed me in films that didn't get Best Picture Nominations. I thought Denzel Washington (in Flight) and Joaquin Phoenix (in The Master) were phenomenal, but in a category with Daniel-Day Lewis, they stand no chance of winning. John Goodman, with small roles in Argo and Flight, was sneaky good too. His roles were probably not flashy enough to get a nomination, but he was great in both films. I was stunned Ben Affleck and Katherine Bigelow were denied Best Director Nominations. There is just something utterly wrong with that.

The funniest scene I saw on film in 2012 (from Django Unchained)

Who do I think will win? I'm leaning towards Argo. It has been winning a number of awards, and that bodes well for it. It would be a good choice, and you'd hear no complaints from me if that were to happen.