Oscar Nomination Review

The last two weeks have been pretty because of the amount of stuff I am attempting to get done. In addition to the book preparations, the new school semester started this past Wednesday and I'm trying to buy a house. I have also been packing for my upcoming move (April 1st, but if I don't get the house I don't know where I'm actually moving to), and I wanted to see all of the movies that have been nominated for major Academy Awards.

So far I've seen many of the Oscar nominated movies for the top categories. I've viewed Eastern Promises, Sweeney Todd, and the first 20 minutes or so of Michael Clayton (I just can't seem to watch the whole thing), all of which has nominees for Best Lead Actor. I viewed No Country For Old Men and the first half of The Assassination of Jesse James, with nominees for Supporting Actor. Juno is the only movie I watched from the Best Lead Actress category, and American Gangster and the first part of Gone Baby Gone for Best Supporting Actress. For Best Picture, I've seen three out of five nominees.

What I learned from that experiment is this: the writer's strike must have something to do with the nominations of the year. I'm used to more subtle (for lack of a better word) movies being nominated for Academy Awards, but this year it seems like only movies with great writing were nominated. Plot seems to matter little (No Country For Old Men is an example of a great movie with no real point other than the message the name suggests) and even great writing can be made better with a bit of energy or something. I use Atonement to explain that point. The story is good but I guarantee that you will look at your watch because it's so slooow. This is the reason I have yet to finish certain films, they are movies that are trying too hard!

I also took the liberty to watch several films that were overlooked this year (there can only be one Little Miss Sunshine or Juno a year it seems) and one of my favorites was He Was a Quiet Man. Much like Thank You For Smoking of a couple of years ago, this movie is a sleeper that never quite made a mark, but Christian Slater is like you've never seen him and the film was great. I also intend to see The Martian Child and Talk To Me, two movies I heard good things about via word of mouth but both suffered a lot from lack of promotion. Talk to Me earned serious praise, and everyone I know who did catch it says it was an Oscar worthy performance by Don Cheadle. One day that man will get the respect he deserves from the masses, though on an interview he said he likes to live a low-key lifestyle, so perhaps it's for the best.

A movie with a big budget that had some controversy but didn't seem to do great in theaters was The Golden Compass. I felt I had to see one child-oriented film (though I did see Ratatouille) and I was quite pleasantly surprised. It really is a good movie and I truly enjoyed it. The book the movie is based on is the first part of a trilogy, so I hope the other two will be adapted as well.

This year's "throw the Black folks a bone" nomination is Ruby Dee for American Gangster. It seems like this was quite the stretch for a supporting role because she really had a bit of an extended cameo. I must say, an old woman playing an old woman shouldn't require much, and the only time she had more than a line or two was the cry/slap sequence, and really, what did that take (other than tears and a slap)? I would be much more satisfied with Don Cheadle in the 9/11 movie if they wanted to throw a bone. If she wins, which I truly can't imagine, something is wrong. I know Ossie died not too long ago, but a lifetime achievement award would be much better suited for her. We'll see what happens.

Take Good Care!