average life

A few weeks ago, I unwittingly co-hosted an Oscar party. Like all good Oscar parties, it was filled with snarkiness, Twitter, Niki Lemley, and brie.  Since the 10-12 people in attendance weren’t enough of an audience, apparently, I’ve decided to share my thoughts on the Best Picture nominees with the world.

 

Black Swan

I didn’t see this movie.  I’m sure it’s  fine, but I’ve never felt any pressing need to watch any Darren Aronofsky film.  I just never saw a trailer and afterwards thought, “I want to see that.”  So I didn’t.  The one curiosity I had was with Mila Kunis as a supporting actress.  I’ve always thought that, given the right role, she could actually do something interesting.  Though I know her part wasn’t major, I’ve heard good things.

 

The Fighter

Okay, I promise that I’ve seen some of these movies…just not this one, either.  My lack of desire to watch The Fighter stems from the fact that it looks like just a formula underdog movie that I can’t bring myself to ramp up enough interest to see it, even to cringe at Skinny Christian Bale.

 

Inception

This was a really fun and (seemingly) smart movie.  I say seemingly because I refuse to watch it again out of fear that the logic will start to fall apart in the casualness of a repeat viewing.  The first go-round I was so busy just keeping track of the plot that I didn’t have time to stop and think about if the plot made sense.  But I didn’t care.

The visuals were fantastic, especially the scenes where Leonard di Caprio was showing Ellen Page the dynamics of the dream worlds, the music was intense without being overwrought, and the acting was passable – mostly because it didn’t need to be anything more.  The lead character in this film was the story.

[rating: 4]

 

The Kids Are Alright

This film was disappointing – not because it wasn’t good…which it wasn’t…it was disappointing because it was nominated in the first place.  Take out the (surprising amount) of sex (mostly hetero) in the movie and you’ve got a better Lifetime flick.  Okay, I don’t guess I’ve ever seen a Lifetime movie, but isn’t this what they’re all about, cheating lesbians?  Like Crash several years ago, this movie was nominated because of politics, because even though Annette Benning was quite fantastic as the uptight mom-jeans wearing patrimatriarch, this film shouldn’t have even been a seat filler at the Oscars.

[rating: 2.0]

 

The King’s Speech

This was a solid movie.  Colin Firth was fantastic as was Geoffry Rush.  Even Helena (whatever) Carter was likable.  But this movie shouldn’t have won for Best Picture simply because, while it was good, it wasn’t great.  The movie kept trying to get there, there was nothing about it really that made you think about it more than ten minutes after having watched it.

[rating: 4.0]

 

127 Hours

Haven’t seen it, but will soon.

 

The Social Network

This is the movie that I expected to win the Oscar.  The script was tight, the plot believable (even if it were “based” on a true story), and all the characters likably unlikable.  The music was fantastic; Trent Reznor earned his Best Score Oscar.  My love of nerds aside…wait, nevermind, I loved this cast.  Jesse Eisenberg was cast perfectly as the emotionally nonexistant Zuckerberg and Andrew Garfield was wonderful as the movie’s anchor.  I agree with a friend who said the only character I didn’t believe was Rashida Jones as the lawyer.

(Did I mention how much I love Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield?)

[rating: 5]

 

Toy Story 3

Yet another good movie but so closely followed the Toy Story formula that I wondered why it was even being nominated.  Toys leave the house, toys wonder if they should go back to the house, toys go back to the house.  And yet we still cry at the end.

[rating: 4]

 

True Grit

This is the movie that I wanted to win the Oscar. Jeff Bridges was wonderfully unintelligible as Marshall Rooster Cogburn, but fourteen-year old Hailee Steinfeld was the star of this movie. The fact that she wasn’t nominated for Best Actress (only being nominated for Best Supporting Actress – even though she is in almost every scene) is a shame. My gripes with the Academy aside, this movie continues the trend of me at the very least liking every Cohen Brothers movie that I see.

[rating: 5]

 

Winter’s Bone

One of the most depressing movies I’ve seen in a while and has the most disturbing scene involving a chainsaw … including Texas Chainsaw Massacre. At least Jennifer Lawrence managed to get a Best Actress nod out of it and John Hawkes was robbed for Best Supporting Actor (even though I haven’t seen Bale in The Fighter). Well constructed, you know a movie which includes the line, “I’ve already told you ‘shut up’ once with my mouth,” isn’t going to end well.

[rating: 5]

 

Other Favorite Films From Last Year

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
This movie appeals to so many sides of me it’s almost not even fair.

How To Train Your Dragon
A really fun movie. It shows that Dreamworks is focusing less on big name voice talent and more on, you know, stories.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
There were sound issues in my theatre that were disappointing, but this series looks like its going to continue to improve with each successive film, right up until the end.

Tangled
The horse was funny. I’m just saying.

Kick-Ass
At 14, Chloe Moretz has one of the best (and most violent) actions scenes in a movie.

Please Give
One of those self-important New York movies without a plot, but I liked it anyway.

Micmacs
The Amélie director helms another charming and visually rich flick.

Easy A
Not the best movie ever, but definitely entertaining.

Tron: Legacy
Boring movie. Epic score.