OT- Your pick for best picture
Okay, so for those of you who don't know the Academy Awards are on tomorrow night on ABC. The Academy Awards are the only awards show I have ever watched. In the past I have watched the whole show from start to finish. Lately I think it drags on too long and the hosts are never that great. I have the show on but don't sit down and watch the whole ceremony like I have in the past. I don't know how many people in the MGOBlog universe are interested in the Academy Awards, but for those that are, I am interested in your pick for best picture. Here are the nominees:
UP
District 9
The Blind Side
An Education
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Avatar(Dances with Smurfs)
Up in the Air
The Hurt Locker
I am just going to try to ignore the fact that expanding the best picture category this year to ten nominees is a joke. The consensus seems to be that the race has come down to Avatar(Dances with Smurfs) directed by James Cameron and The Hurt Locker directed by Cameron's ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow. My pick: The Hurt Locker. I think Bigelow has put together an amazing movie that showcases some of the crazy things going on over in Iraq. The film may not have a conventional plot structure by the great performances by everyone in the cast especially Jeremy Renner make this a must see movie.
p.s. Bigelow still looks pretty attractive for her age. Just sayin.
Link to a picture?
Of course
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/photos/stylus/111625-kathryn_bigelo…
The only one I've seen is Up, so I have to go with that.
I have to agree. I saw District 9 and Inglorious Basterds as well, but neither was good enough for Best Picture.
Up however was a very well composed movie. But what do we know about movies?
I saw Inglorious Basterds and I thought it is at least somewhat worthy of a best picture. It probably won't win, but I thought it was very well done. Haven't seen any of the other movies other than Avatar, but I've heard good things about The Hurt Locker. I'm don't think District 9 should even be in this group, it was only an ok movie in my book.
The guy who played Col. Hans Landa is up for Best Supporting Actor. The guy basically made the entire movie.
There aren't too many pictures better than this one....
But seriously, Hurt Locker.
But seriously, Hurt Locker.
+1 to you.
This one may come close to the Branch picture
http://gorillacrouch.com/pics/shawncrableaug31
That is one of my favorite Michigan photos of all time. If i remember correctly we took Notre Dame down to their #3 QB that game or was that Penn State?
and I danced a jig because of it.
My vote would go to BG, excellent directing
Or Inglorious Basterds
I almost forgot about that play, it does not get any better than that!
I've seen over half of the nominees, and I would have to pick UP.
Never have I cared so much about characters ten minutes into a film.
That's very very true about UP. Fantastic movie.
... All of those minus An Education and Precious and in my humble opinion Hurt Locker has to win it (but I think Avatar will). Although for me none of these movies are on par with many of the past winners.
Hurt Locker was really good but Avatar will probally win sadly
The Hurt Locker, hands down. From the reviews I have read, Avatar is just a pretty face on an otherwise pretty average movie.
My pick is the Hurt Locker. Avatar was looking like it would win, but the Hurt Locker has gained a lot of ground, and it could go either way. Supposedly Inglourious Basterds might take advantage of the Hurt Locker and Avatar taking votes from one another, and sneak in as a dark horse winner. Or so I read online when I'm bored at work and nothing new has been posted here.
Also, I'm just starting my night of watching the nominees for Best Short Feature, both Live and Animated, I'm hoping they are all excellent. Included is a new Wallace and Gromit!
Mad props for seeing all the nominees. As someone who considers myself a film guy, I wish I had the time between school and work to get to all of them, especially in theaters.
Mad props. Every year I try to see all the films nominated for best picture. I was not able to see all of them this year, partly because the category was expanded to 10 and I went back to school so I have not had as much free time. Also, I don't think An Education ever came to a theater near where I live, so I might have failed either way.
I generally see all of the films nominated for the major awards, but this year did make it more challenging with the increase to 10. I have nothing going on this weekend, and I also downloaded the nominees for Best Documentary that I haven't seen yet, not sure if I'll get them in before tomorrow night though
I've seen Avatar and Inglorious Basterds.
It's easy for people to assume Avatar is a sci-fi CGI-fest with little more than stunning visuals to its credit. That's what I assumed. But I saw it this last week, and it is certainly more than a sci-fi CGI fest. I thought the acting was very good - Sigourney Weaver was so believable and likable in her role. I thought the villian dude was really good.
The cinematography was excellent, for the most part. The directing was pretty standard and conservative. Nothing outside the norm of what I would have expected (with the exception of a few zoom shots which I personally don't think fit the scene).
I don't think it was a "Best Picture" film. I thought it was a great, fun film and I actually saw it twice (just the second time I've done that).
You're right, I think my main problem with Avatar was the screenwriting. I know its a separate award in its own right, but I think Best Picture should be judged based on a number of factors. The screenwriting for Avatar was probably the worst of all 10 noms here.
I mean, compare Avatar's plot and/or development to District 9, Hurt Locker, or Up. The plot was Titanic-esque in its obviousness.
This just adds more fuel to the fire..... Everybody in real life has told me that The Hurt Locker deserves to win too... Now I just need to see it.
I've only seen Avatar and Inglorious - so I say give it to the Basterds.
I hate that there are 100 films up for the award - much better with a smaller field.
but based on what I have seen:
Up. Did not like. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice story, with the usual PIXAR animated brilliance; but this is the first PIXAR film after the Disney purchase, and you can se their ham handedness all over it (particularly the last 3rd). I was more disappointed in what it COULD have been and wasn't, so I guess I judge it more harshly.
Avatar. Good. Amazing effects, passable to good acting (given the pedestrian script), and an unbelievable attention to detail that's immersive to the point of overdose. Best picture? Maybe for some, but probably not the Academy.
District 9. Good. A small film with a big story isn't unique, but the other-wordly subject matter and special effects used without fanfare (are you listening Cameron?) made it very compelling.
I thought the plot and pace stumbled a few times, but was still enjoyable. Oscar material? Too divergent for mainstream Academy voters even without it's few flaws.
Inglorious Bastards. Liked it. Funny, sinister, moving. Epic scenes are well crafted and really show Tarentino's joy as a filmmaker. I do think that some bits seemed a bit forced at times and it slowed the pace too much for me. Best picture? Too quirky for such serious subjects is my guess.
Will hopefully see Hurt Locker soon, but that will be the last I see until video releases.
Where the Hell is Big Boutros? This is his cup of tea.
Wellllllll I'm glad you asked, bucko. I've just returned from Crazy Heart, starring Jeff Bridges' giant boobs. The certainty of his impending Oscar win is merited, though the film surrounding his performance is not what I expected. If you can look past the idea of a late-20s single mom instantaneously falling in love with a 57-year-old obese chain smoking alcoholic, then I don't think you'll have any trouble buying the progression of Crazy Heart's story. I scratched my head a little bit.
The Best Picture of 2009 was The Hurt Locker. That's just my opinion, but I'm making it a declarative statement because I saw it four times in the theater and it only made $11 million so I'm at least 35% responsible for its nomination.
I'm afraid--morbidly afraid--that The Hurt Locker will fall victim to a last-minute smear campaign running against it. For those of you who don't know, one of the film's producers, Nicholas Chartier, has been banned (!) from attending tomorrow's ceremony for sending an email to various Academy voters asking them to consider voting for The Hurt Locker in the Best Picture category.
I feel a little relieved that DeadlineHollywood, probably the most reputable online source for industry news, laughed off the punishment:
So let me get this straight; Nicolas Chartier who financed The Hurt Locker and is one of the 4 officially credited producers can’t attend the Academy Awards because he sent a mass email that never even mentioned Avatar by name? And the Oscars governing body thinks his badmouthing is so much worse than what nearly everyone in the Best Picture category has done year after year?So I must ask: is it mere coincidence that Academy president Tom Sherak (at one time a bigtime Fox movie exec), Oscars producers Bill Mechanic (at one time a bigtime Fox movie exec) and Adam Shankman (currently a bigtime Fox Broadcast talent), and Academy Board Of Governors member Jim Gianopulos (currently a bigtime Fox movie exec) all have strong ties to the Avatar studio? The Academy should have leaned over backwards not to appear Fox-sympathetic because of this.Still, it's enough to make you wonder if someone is mounting an offensive on Avatar's behalf. Let's hope it's not successful. I don't say that because I think Avatar is a terrible film; I don't. It's a remarkable technical achievement. But there's more at stake in pitting The Hurt Locker and Avatar head-to-head than just a golden statuette. Not to blare my own butthorn, but I wrote a piece for the Daily a short while ago that literally no one has read explaining the particular importance of Kathryn Bigelow's potential to make history. Click on this obvious loserface pandering! I realize Best Director and Best Picture do not go hand in hand, but the message is the same. The Hurt Locker is the better film.
for the insider's gossip . . . Gossip Monger!
Perhaps Crazy Heart was making a subtle Oscar bid by creating a main character that studio execs could identify with?
I HAVE to see Hurt Locker.
Auto +1 for any Gary Busey reference.
If you can't find it in a second run theater, and don't feel like paying to buy/rent it, you can download it here in decent quality
Crazy Heart was based on a true story, and Maggie Gyllenhaal is in her 30s, so I managed to let that slide.
As for the e-mail Nicolas Chartier sent out to Oscar voters, I am a bit surprised that he has been banned from the ceremony, but I don't necessarily disagree with it. In past years, Academy voters only chose the winner for each category, and the votes were tallied. But this year for Best Picture, the voters have been asked to rank the 10 nominees from 1-10, giving individual voters more power to influence the winning movie. Chartier's e-mail may have not mentioned Avatar by name, but it did ask that the voters put the Hurt Locker at #1, and "not a "$500 million film," instead putting that mysterious option at #10. Voting Avatar at #10 will increase the odds of the Hurt Locker winning, because most #1 votes going to Avatar would still have put the Hurt Locker at #2 or 3. It will be interesting to see if the voters listen to Chartier, or if perhaps this will hurt his chances of winning.
Also, I enjoyed your article on Bigelow and female directors. I think she is a near lock to win, and will be happy to see that happen
I agree that Hurt Locker is by far the best and Kathryn Bigelow should also win. When one considers the limited budget (no sets were used!), there is no doubt that Ms. Bigelow wrung more out of less than any of her competitors. Your article in the Daily was excellent--thanks for linking that. Good luck!
I vote for Charles pick vs MSU.
but using DISNEY as a comparison is lighting a fuse on an Irony A-bomb.
Ms. Bigelow is pushing 60 (!):
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000941/
I'm sure she can afford the best in personal training, and I there may be a good chance that she's had some "work," but I'm still favorably impressed... very.
Avatar was a terrible movie.
Up was not.
I've seen seven of the ten (everything except Precious, Hurt Locker and A Serious Man).
Avatar was visually stunning but plotwise not original at all. And the dialogue in some parts was absolutely horrible.
An Education is a well-written and interesting movie. I didn't know that much about the time period, and even less about that time in England, so it was quite fascinating. The acting by Sarsgaard and Mulligan is good.
District 9 was a top-notch action movie, and the acting was actually pretty good. It was a little politically heavy-handed for me, but I certainly enjoyed it. That said, it wasn't the best movie I saw last year.
Up in the Air is really good. It's funny and sad and charming. It was also very timely. Vera Farmiga is one of my favorite actresses, and Anna Kendrick is also really good. Plus I'm as much of a sucker for George as most ladies.
The Blind Side was an entertaining little piece of fluff, but I'm not sure that it isn't a problematic movie, and it's hardly revolutionary.
UP was fantastic. Visually stunning, charming, sweet, heartbreaking (I sobbed during the first 10 minutes), funny, everything you could want in a movie. I'm afraid it's going to get jobbed tomorrow by not winning either category it's nominated in.
Obviously, I haven't seen all 10 nominees, but the movie that most made me go 'wow' this year was Inglourious Basterds. It is a masterpiece of tension in two, if not three of the five parts. The acting is really good, especially Christoph Waltz. As with all Tarantino, it's almost over-the-top, but not quite. And it was the most ambitious film I saw.
I don't feel like my opinion is all it should be, because I haven't seen The Hurt Locker, but I just can't imagine anything overtaking IB for me.
District 9. Best overall package, IMO
That was my high school nickname.
"The Oscars are to film what VH1 is to music."
It's a Ken Burns joint.
Another classic Pixar movie.
Crable over Quinn with Brady having chunk of sod on his head was great . I think Woodson's one handed pick was even better . Crable pic was cool .
I've seen 6 of the nominees and if it was up to me it'd be a contest between Up in the Air and Inglorious Basterds. Up in the Air was probably my favorite of the year, but Inglorious Basterds was pretty entertaining (and watching it again made me appreciate it more). Avatar was good, but the glitz overshadowed the story. Hurt Locker was also good, but I just didn't enjoy it as much as the other two - can't really explain why. Regardless, I think Hurt Locker will end up winning tomorrow night.
Overall, this may be the best group of movies nominated for best picture, but I'm not sure any one stands out as a classic. Even last year's winner, Slumdog Millionaire, is significantly better than any of the options this year, in my opinion.
None of the films made this year were as well written, emotionally and visually gripping as Slumdog. This year I've still give it to Dances with Smurfs for the visuals though.
Really? I thought Slumdog was way too cheesy for my taste in Best Picture. I think Up in the Air this year has a similar tone but is better written. It doesn't have the scenery that Slumdog did since it takes place almost entirely indoors.
Child of the 80's, what can I say?
This thread is oozing awesome. It appears that multiple people have gone through negging anyone who states that they like UP or doesn't like Avatar.
Really?
You posted the most thorough bashing of Avatar, and got 4 points for it (I thought it was funny too). I negged one comment, b/c they just wrote "Avatar was terrible," which is not true, and wasn't a very useful post
anyone know if there is any UM rooting interests in the Academy Awards?
sure helped me through ice dancing.
I'm a big time movie nerd, and am actually part of the moderating team at awardsdailyforums.com, so this evening is one of the bigger ones of the year for me. That being said, my favorite of the nominees is A Serious Man. The Coens just seem to be on a roll and that film is one of their best. But I fully expect The Hurt Locker to win Picture and support that completely since it's a damn good film.
The Hurt Locker, hands down