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I saw six of the ten nominees for best picture ('though admittedly NOT Avatar and NOT The Hurt Locker) and nothing I saw last year was as good as Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It's a shame that a film like this was largely ignored by the Academy (it received a well-deserved Best Cinematography nomination). Critics grudgingly admitted it was a good film. My students, who have grown up with Harry, all agreed that it was the best Harry Potter film since [insert favorite Harry film here]. I think I saw forty movies in 2009 and it was easily the best.
But I'm disturbed! I'm depressed! I'm inadequate! I GOT IT ALL! (George Costanza) GrouchyTeacher.com
I saw both films, Avatar and The Hurt Locker. I felt all along The Hurt Locker deserved to be awarded Best Picture. While I liked Avatar, as I said in a previous post in another thread it was "a visual feast," I thought the writing was heavy-handed and cliché-ridden.
The Hurt Locker was a difficult film to watch and maybe not for everyone, but it was well-written. The directing and acting were also superb.
I've seen Avatar 3 times, and will likely go back again, AND will buy the DVD in April. It was a very entertaining film.
I haven't seen The Hurt Locker yet - partly because that was MY job during another war, and it might be hard to sit through. Likely, though, I may agree with the academy decision because a film is many components, not least of which is the impact on the viewers and its social message.
Be Yourself. Everyone Else Is Taken!
~ ~
Kaʻonohiʻulaʻokahōkūmiomioʻehiku
Spreading the virus of ALOHA.
Oh Chu. If only you could have seen what I've seen, with your eyes.
Hurt Locker was so boring it took all the stamina and determination I could muster to watch it through to the end. If boredom signifies high art - well done! I bought a Blockbuster discounted DVD (2 DVDs) of Special forces training and the Iraq War offensive into Baghdad and found it more worthy of Best Picture than Hurt Locker. Inglorious Basterds was just plain dumb and dragged on too long - better to have just kept it in the can. Avatar, eye candy. I agree, HBP tops all of those selections, even if you never read the books or saw the prequels. Calling a movie 'successful' (Avatar) because it brought in a ton of cash is bean-counter reality - it doesn't relate to art at all.
Don't invest too much on an award only actors themselves vote on.
Actually, it's voted on by over 6000 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences - not just actors, but people who work in all aspects of film making. But if your point is "it's an industry award, not a popularity contest," you're on the money.
Based on my list at IMDB, I saw eight films I ranked 8/10 or better (no 10/10s this year). This means that all I had to do was rank the nines in order, then the eights in order. Then I got to choose my two best sevens. Here’s how they came out, in order from best to tenth-best:
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Crazy Heart
Up in the Air
An Education
Taking Woodstock
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Up
The Boat that Rocked (Pirate Radio in the U.S.) Whip it!
The Proposal
The also-rans (movies rated 7/10) in alphabetical order: (500) Days of Summer
Adventureland
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Invictus
Julie & Julia
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Sin nombre
The Blind Side
The Boat That Rocked
The Invention of Lying
The September Issue
Where the Wild Things Are
Whip It
White on Rice
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
As you can see, I went with The Proposal to round out my top ten. In truth, it’s not THAT good a movie, but it was surprisingly entertaining and I found myself caring about the characters in a way that seems to have become rare for films in its genre. Plus, Sandra Bullock is really good in this.
And here are my 2009 awards!
Best actor: I’m still going with Matt Damon in The Informant! with Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart second.
Best actress: Meryl Streep, Julie and Julia. Second goes to Vera Formiga in Up in the Air, though I suppose you could call that a supporting role.
Best supporting actor: Alan Rickman in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Second: Liev Schrieber, Taking Woodstock. Yeah, Schrieber’s performance has grown on me in retrospect.
Best supporting actress: Anna Kendrick, Up in the air. Second (and I’m still pissed that the Academy and the press completely ignored her): Helena Bonham Carter, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
Best soundtrack: Crazy Heart
Best score: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Best director: Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
But I'm disturbed! I'm depressed! I'm inadequate! I GOT IT ALL! (George Costanza) GrouchyTeacher.com
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