Cinematic Jack and the Film Stock
The Weekly's film critic provides a quippy guide to the Academy Awards' Best Picture Nominees for 2009
Jack Greenbaum
This year the Academy Awards has upped its Best Picture nominees from five to 10. Since most people didn't get a chance to see all of them, I thought I'd give my say on these tenfold contenders.
James Cameron's planet colonizing/native cultural assimilation/native love/science fiction story has had quite the divisive commentary. To me, it was like watching a video game: visually stimulating and action-packed, but I just wasn't involved enough in the story to care.
This film, led by Sandra Bullock, is about a wealthy Memphis family's adoption of an impoverished black teenager. Despite the questioned accuracy of this adaptation of a true story, "The Blind Side" is an enjoyable picture about kindness and charity. Though these themes are somewhat banal, the film's message is still poignant.
This action movie serves as an allegory for apartheid. Exciting and gruesome, the film tells the story of outsiders trying to survive, and how friendship can be found among the most unlikely people or creatures.
This film follows the journey of a young British girl in the 60s as she matures to womanhood through a relationship with an older man. Underscored by fantastic performances, particularly by Carey Mulligan and Peter Sarsgaard, director Lone Scherfig wonderfully captures the ingress into maturity and all the tumultuous choices that come with it.
This film about an Army bomb squad takes war cinema to a new level of intensity. Observing soldiers as they deal with disarming explosives keeps you constantly on the edge of your seat. Kathryn Bigelow brilliantly directs an amazing cast in this engaging and incredibly powerful indie flick.
Everyone knows about Tarantino's ability to turn a film upside down and backwards, but this time he screws with history, changing World War II to fit his vision . . . and it works. The idiosyncratic characters each have their own brilliantly twisted story that sucks the audience in. Filled with laughter, action, violence, drama and fire - not to mention Hans Landa, the most fascinating and likable Nazi ever - Tarantino creates an epic war saga that thrills and delights.
"Precious" is the story of a black teenager in Harlem coping with parental abuse, illiteracy, rape, obesity, sexually transmitted diseases and the people that affect her life. Unfortunately, despite the exceptional performance by the cast, the story is seriously lacking. While the film's themes bring attention to significant cultural issues like our education system and child welfare, the film itself is much too fragmented and disjointed, constantly distracting me from focusing on Precious' heartwrenching struggle.
"A Serious Man"
This film is an interesting portrait of a Jewish man whose life is collapsing in front of his eyes in 1970s Minnesota. Well-scripted and with a strong cast, the latest addition to the Coen brothers' oeuvre does not disappoint. Coen brother fans and those in favor of subtle and poignant storytelling will enjoy this flick.
"Up"
This is the tale of a man coping with loss and traveling via balloons to the Amazon in search of adventure, teaming up with some interesting characters and unintentionally joining the fight to protect an endangered species along the way. Pixar does it again with this great film that once more demonstrates the production company's talent for creating heartwarming and tear-jerking films.
This film centers around a man who flies all over the country and remains completely isolated. The characters are interesting and the plot is culturally and economically relevant. With lots of airports, but little character development, Jason Reitman's newest work wastes the talents of George Clooney, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick in this mediocre dramedy.
In my opinion, this was not a strong year for movies, but that by no means translates to a less contentious Oscar race. While "The Hurt Locker" and "Avatar" appear to be the front-runners, I'm betting on "Inglorious Basterds" for Best Picture. Oscar voters are split on Bigelow's and Cameron's works, but a majority of people love Tarantino's WWII flick, and I think at the end of the night "Inglorious Basterds" is going to take home the big prize.
Tune in to the Academy Awards Sunday, March 7 at 5:00 pm PST.
Be the first to comment on this story