Oscar 2011 - Best Picture

I still disagree with the Academy's last year decision of expanding the nominee number for best picture from 5 to 10. It's simply marketing and nothing more. It's obvious that you can remove some titles when considering this category without worrying that they actually had chances to win. Even so, there is a good part. If for last year I still wonder how did they manage to find enough movies to get 10 nominations, considering the quality, this year is probably the best in the last ten as number of very good movies/number of nominees. Usually I had one, maybe two if not zero titles nominated here that I actually liked. As much as necessary to consider rewatching sometime. This year I have five. From these five I consider that one should get the Oscar for the best picture, but I would like another one to take it :). However, it won't be neither of them. Let's see the nominations ...

"Black Swan" - .. I just realize that I was wrong above. I liked five of this year's nominations quite a lot, but there is one of them that I don't think I want to see it again - this one. It's a film I enjoyed exclusively for the movie making and for the look of the final result, and not for the story or the subject. It's one of the two movies this year that manage to create a sufficiently intense feeling in order to change your state of spirit you had before entering the cinema (and I mean for longer than ten minutes before forgetting it and thinking of something else). It's the best movie I've ever seen that exploits a mental issue to build its story. The story is one of a ballerina who wants so badly to get a role that develops a quite advanced degree of psychosis on this ( I think the depicted condition is more close to psychosis than schizophrenia from what I know .. anyway, maybe I'm not right ..). The movie manages to be so efficient in presenting the story that it gives you the creeps at the thought that what you see is actually plausible in reality. All the fear, the tension, the dementia are so well expressed by the way the movie is shot, edited, etc. I wrote about this also in some previous entries on other categories ( forgot to mention about the mirrors when talking about cinematography :) ). Well, even if it's probably the movie that manages to express most well it's base idea it's still a niche movie considering it's psychological noir tragedy genre, so I'm not seeing it higher than 3 in an Oscar favorite top list.

"The Fighter" - is probably the movie with the best casting at this category, I think a bit above "The King's Speech". The film is something like a "Rocky" based on real facts - the story of a boxer from a poor neighborhood who eventually manages to get a title. I wrote more details in January - here. So I don't know if it makes any sense to say much more now. It's one of the movies that I won't bet a dime on the Oscars except for the actors. Because the rest was already seen in too many productions on the same topic (and for some reason it seems the americans like them enough to give awards, but I'm pretty sure it won't happen for Best Picture).

"Inception" - ... well, this is the movie that I would like to get the Oscar. I don't see any chances for that considering it didn't get a nomination for directing and also more surprisingly neither for editing. And I don't know any movie in the last 20 years to win the award for best movie and not to be nominated to at least one of these two. It's a story that is based on the lucid dreaming concept (much more real than you might think), the subject evolving around a group of individuals able to manipulate the information at the subconscious level. It's my type of SF and I actually waited for this movie to come out for about one year (since the first trailer). It was nice, but it wasn't enough. And I'm not so surprised or better said not very disappointed that Nolan didn't get a nomination for directing. There is one problem with the movie. It doesn't have as much warmth for the story it tells as it could. You don't get a powerful enough feeling related with the characters or the action that unfolds. Anyway, this is a very personal point of view from someone who knew a bit about lucid dreaming before seeing the movie and ... also did read "Ubik" by P.K.Dick. What's "Ubik" ? "Ubik" is a book written somewhere in the '60s that has quite a lot in common with the (original) screenplay of "Inception". It's not the same story ... but are pretty much the same ideas. Instead of lucid dreaming we have artificially sustained coma. Instead a group of individuals dealing with manipulating this state of mind we have a group of individuals dealing with counteracting manipulators of somebody's mind (generally speaking, not coma related). But in the end, and that's the beauty of the book - in the end - all resumes to the same stuff : the ability to create places, things, and other stuff, manipulate them, interact with other people - all at the subconscious level, not being able to discern what's exactly real and what is not, and of course .. the ending. The ending is the same as in "Inception". We have a coin instead of a spinning top, that we don't actually now what it says. Again, the stories as action are different, the contexts are however very much alike. Nolan didn't mention anything about "Ubik" as far as I know, but I tend to think he did read the book at some point in his life. The problem is that if you'll read the book you'll probably be a bit disappointed about the movie (just a bit). At least from my point of view "Ubik" unfolds in a way that is really able to get to your heart in the end. Thing that I haven't felt as much in "Inception". Mainly because of this I'll stick to the opinion that "The Prestige" is the best movie made by Nolan, because at least for me remains the more powerful regarding the feeling it gives. But, considering that "Inception" is one of the stories I really wanted to see on screen :) I'll also stick to the wish to see it getting the Oscar, as unlikely as it is. I'll end talking about this nomination with a quote .. from "Ubik" which is a bit cryptic even in the book (it's just the final chapter's motto) .. because of this as a warning that I really wanted to avoid but I think I must say it, just try to disregard any religious point of view when you read the next lines .. it's an idea that may have some connection somewhere with some form of religion but what it wants to say in essence is completely distinct of any such stuff - my interpretation in the context of the book is that this is just a self-said definition of the human subconscious: "I am Ubik. Before the universe was, I am. I made the suns. I made the worlds. I created the lives and the places they inhabit; I move them here, I put them there. They go as I say, they do as I tell them. I am the word and my name is never spoken, the name which no one knows. I am called Ubik, but that is not my name. I am. I shall always be."

"The Kids Are All Right" - ... I feel like falling from a nice sunny mountain top to a dark muddy swamp just by writing the title after talking about the previous movie. Well .. I've seen during past years among the Oscar nominations an entire row of comedies with drama tendencies, with a lot of weirdness/crazyness in their action: "Little Miss Sunshine", "Juno", "A Man Apart", etc. Somehow it happened that I liked them all, and in some cases even more than the other nominations. And that's really something considering I'm not really into comedies. That's because I think is the genre with the highest percent of junk movies per year = very often overusing the same subjects in lame "being funny" attempts. Fortunately, at the Oscar we had quite good comedies. Not this year ... "The Kids Are All Right" respects the recipe of original crazy subject: the son and daughter of a lesbian couple decide one day that they want to meet their father, a former sperm donor that no one knows what kind of person is. Original, that's pretty much this film has in common with other comedies we've seen nominated here. Actually I don't even think the comedy is the dominant genre here, because the movie unfolds more like a typical family drama, with many dialog cliches and lots of loose ends (just one of the many .. example spoiler: there isn't very clear what will happen with the kids father in the end, we just see him leaving after a sort of a fight which is not very convincing to consider the character out of story). I don't know what more to say besides that there is one title somewhere below that I boycott since a while and even so I think is better than this one.

"The King's Speech" is considered by many the favorite to the Best Picture Oscar this year based on the 12 nominations it got, on the BAFTA it recently won and also on some other awards. I disagree. It was pretty clear that it will get the BAFTA but with the Oscars there's another story. I don't know .. Maybe I'm wrong but .. I don't want to brag, I haven't been wrong since "Chicago" (well, maybe enough time passed for another error :) ). I'm not saying that the movie is not good. It just looks too .. normal. Generally the Oscar is given to something that can differentiate a bit in the genre it belongs. Here the main aspect to consider is the casting, and especially Colin Firth's role as George the VI-th. Even if the role of the british monarch tormented by his speaking problems is flawlessly done I don't think it's enough to get this movie out and apart from an entire row of UK made historical dramas produced during the last years. That's what I was telling in the previous directing blog entry also, because I think the ability of building the individuality of the movie lies pretty much in the hands of the director. I agree that "The King's Speech" is better than other movies covering a history part, but not much more original than these. Conclusion: according to the general opinion, I also started to consider it among the Oscar favorites, but because of what I mentioned a few lines above I would place it on the 2nd position.

"127 Hours" is the movie that I consider to be the most complete from all the nominations, and because of this also the most entitled to get the Oscar here. Thing that won't happen considering the outsider status besides larger production value titles having also a more powerful marketing behind them. Besides this, it didn't get even the directing nomination. I think I've already told it somewhere on my blog that I am not very attracted by real case based movies. This was an exception. Maybe the story of a guy blocked for 127 hours under a rock sounds somehow .. catchy .. I don't know, but what I can tell is that the movie worth seeing for much more reasons than the story. You have directing, you have the visuals, you have the editing, you have the score, you have only one actor but he's enough to not feel the need for more. I think I wrote enough about these in the movie entry around a month ago - here. Looking at the entire nomination list, if you would make me choose the best made title in three seconds I'll probably go for "Inception". But if I take them all and compare on every level related to a movie production, disregarding any subjective preferences, I'm pretty convinced that the average grade will be in the favor of "127 Hours". Well .. to end here .. and talking about movie production, considering the originality of the cinematography in this movie (and the lack of nomination for this ...) I said myself that would be nice to point it out with the next clip:

"The Social Network" is my option for placing a bet on the winner for Best Picture. It is the most appreciated by critics from what we have this year, and enough liked by the public and the movie industry. For me it was interesting from the "documentaristic" point of view, giving some insight about the "Facebook" beginnings (don't know how authentic though ..). As a feature film it was .. so & so. It has some good points, but I didn't find anything to be extraordinary (maybe the score, which is different from what you usually hear). The problem is that the story, for me at least, doesn't have any power to impress, to make you actually feel something. There are just some facts put on screen. And I think that everybody working on the movie from the director to the sound editing department, made their best to compensate that. Otherwise you'll probably have as final result something as slow paced as "The King's Speech" and without the "feeling factor". But the final result is not like that. After you've finished watching "The Social Network", thinking back and considering strictly the movie subject you might have the impression that you have watched a slow paced production, but that's not what you feel while you are watching. That's the point, as I see it, where this movie gains the most in overall level. But I don't think it's enough to make it the best picture. Anyway, I think this will be the case at this year Oscars.

"Toy Story 3" .. I totally get the marketing idea to extend the best picture nomination list from 5 to 10, but I don't get why do we have animations nominated here. There is a category for best animation, as there is a category for best foreign language film and one for best documentary. The best picture should be dissociated considering the nominees from these, and it is, except for the animation one. I don't have anything against giving the prize for best picture of the year to an animation - even more I think that the animation level in the last years went high enough that more should be nominated as best picture, but not also keeping in this case a separate category for best animation. Difficult question: if we have "Toy Story 3" nominated for best picture, guess who will win for best animation ? I would really like to be wrong... That's the reason for my so called boycott this year against the best animation category by not writing about it. Well .. I also didn't see the third title nominated. But the other one, "How to Train Your Dragon" for me is way better than "Toy Story 3". And the fact that "Toy Story 3" got a nomination for best movie is like considering it at least one class above the rest animations. Why doing this ? Especially considering that is pretty obvious it won't get the Oscar for best picture. "Toy Story 3" is a good movie but below "Up" and "Wall-E" from what Pixar has produced before. What actually gave it a push at the level it's considered is the marketing, the fact that is a sequel for a success series, and that it's written Pixar on it. What annoys me the most in all the reviews that praise "Toy Story 3" is that is said it's "deep" and much more "adult oriented" than the DreamWorks production. For God sake ... if an adult needs a movie who is one step close from including a "boo-hoo-hoo" in the background sound for the teardropping moments as it's in sitcoms for laughters to consider it deep .. I'll stick to the target focus of DreamWorks whatever that might be. "How to Train Your Dragon" is a movie that has "something" behind all the humor and the sarcasm it shows but without giving that "something" on a plate to be served by the viewer in the way Pixar does it all the time. You have to remove yourself the curtain to look through the window, not being actually pulled through it directly as it's in the other case. For me that's the meaning of "deep" (I tend to think that people reviewing "Toy Story 3" forgot even the dictionary definition of the word). Well, what I've written probably sounds very anti-"Toy Story 3", and I really don't want to be like that because as I said "Toy Story 3" is a good movie, and for the technical aspects for instance Pixar still rules. My problem is less with "Toy Story 3" than with the critics for "Toy Story 3". And with this "end of story" here ...

"True Grit" probably is as Oscar winning chances pretty close to "Black Swan", so also somewhere on the 3rd spot in a favorites top. I've written more in January about the movie - here, and the current blog entry really got long enough to repeat myself with all I said there. In a few words, the movie is a western that follows the story of a girl hiring a federal marshal to avenge her killed father. It's a movie that I think would appeal to almost everybody contrary to how it sounds or maybe even on how the trailer looks. That's why I don't see it as a typical western, although many are saying it's quite old school in this genre. I don't agree with that. The script has enough witty lines, and the visuals and the score are delightfully composed (although the last one didn't get a nomination). It's enough to give the movie a note of originality. It has 10 Oscar nominations, including directing and editing, and this might actually place it in the position of a potential surprise for the evening, although nobody expects that. I won't mind being wrong with my prediction and seeing "True Grit" win instead of "The Social Network", even though I'm more supportive for "Inception" and "127 Hours" ( "The King's Speech" is the one which I'll really dislike ruining my predictions :) ).

"Winter's Bone" .. I started with one of the two movies nominated that are above the rest in the level of intensity transmitted to the viewer and I finish with the second one. Unlike "Black Swan" which might frighten you with the base idea it's built upon, here you have pure tension that is continuously raised until the end. The subject it's placed around a girl looking for her missing father to get him back to the police in order not to lose her house placed as a bail. The pure tension mainly relates with the fact that the way the story unfolds you'll start to think that in the next five minutes of the movie the girl will be "missing" too. I wrote more about the film in parallel with "True Grit" (the link is above). "Winter's Bone" is an indie movie = low budget, but for what it has to tell you is more than enough, showing that you don't really need as much money as "Avatar" costs to be able to make a good picture ( actually much better than "Avatar" here, although I don't think it's the best comparison :) ). And to end this overlong entry I will just say more that despite the tension of the movie, and unlike "Black Swan" this one I would like to see again some time, because even if it's really grim, the end has something optimistic in it close to a warm feeling that matters quite much for the whole story.

I think this is the record for a long entry :D (actually written from pieces during two days, a first even for me :-p). I pretty much doubt that somebody will get to this line :)) unless he/she starts reading from the end to beginning, so I don't know why I'm still pressing the keys on my laptop :). Well ... Thanks to the winter vacation and to the lack of flexibility of the Academy that pretty much shuffled the 10 nominations for best picture also to the rest of the categories, I somehow managed to pull off a decent Oscar coverage in terms of number of posts this year (in terms of quality :) ... I'm sure it can be done much better). Anyway, starting with next week, I'll be back to the usually one entry/week rate and with a good movie I hope :).