**************A FEW MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD******************
by Idaho Chubbs
I have seen all of the Best Picture nominees except for "The Fighter" and "The King's Speech". Most I have no issue with. But I seem to be in a contentious sleepless mood so let's get on with it. Toy Story 3, ok, Pixar finally broke me with "Up" last year (A perfect film and water-works in the first 15 minutes every time I see it), and though this movie (TS3) was heartfelt, it's going in over "Blue Valentine"? The big bad hot pink(?) bear distracted me in cliched ways but maybe I need to see it again. But in any case "BV" was one of the best films of the year, but of course I'm not surprised by it's omission, so let's move on to "Winter's Bone", good indie Sundance flick, good performances all around, not sure if they deserve Oscars. Another movie that got a ton of Oscar buzz was the "The Town". Thankfully it got the only nomination it could possibly deserve. Renner should definitely be rewarded for taking one of the most terribly written, non-dynamic, black and white characters to exist in the general "I need to get out of the corrupt town I grew-up in" narrative, and making that still compelling. Although I'm not sure, as I watched the movie, if I was impressed by the magnitude of the character or the magnitude of which I knew Jeremy Renner could play him. Anyway, a third similar 2010 thriller that deals with corrupt "families" and how they sociopathically screw each other over was "Animal Kingdom". Saw it last night, and it hit me harder than "The Town" or "Winter's Bone". Jackie Weaver did score a supporting nomination as the deeply caring, loving and super creepy evil bungling crime syndicate matriarch, which seemed quite deserved. I probably didn't sleep last night due to the image of her pleasantly psychotic clown smile.
Onto "The Kids Are Alright". I liked this movie, but not sure what the huge deal was. Not sure Annette Bening was in the movie enough to get a best actress nod (but who really cares. It's between Michelle Williams and Natalie Portman, and they both got nominated, so were good). I am glad that Ruffalo got a supporting nod even though he should have had his first one way back for his role as Terry Prescott in "You Can Count On Me". What's funny is that his character Paul, in "The Kid's Are Alright" sort of seemed like an actual older, wiser Terry. Finally got out of the bland, rural parts of the Northeast, went to sunny California, tried college, didn't take, but local food agriculture did, working with your hands, and that blossomed. Ten years later here we are. Yeah he wasn't a perfect man, but Paul/Terry was way more put together in this movie than in "You Count On Me". So well, yeah, maybe Ruffalo's past character playing self did get his belated nomination after all in this present. Suffice it to say, the film had some really great scenes and moments but did not floor me overall, but I did like that it was sentimental without actually being sentimental (seemingly forced raw sex scenes aside?).
As for "True Grit", well, wow, Academy, you love the Coens so MUCH now. I guess Nolan can look forward to a ton of nominations and wins long after his best films have been made too. Whose favorite Coen movie was made after "The Big Lebowski"? Some might say "No Country For Old Men". Ok, I don't agree. Granted they have tried new things which is great, did a very personal film "A Serious Man" recently, but something's off for me, and it continued with "True Grit" which I wanted to love, but ended up just liking for the art direction, cinematography and Hailee Steinfeld. Their movies of late look so incredibly good (Roger Deakins is the master) but some sort of connection is gone. I'm not sure, maybe I've changed, maybe the me of the past will always like the films of their past and that subconsciously influences my critique of the their present and future films. Obviously I'm in the minority here, although I will say "Burn After Reading" was horrible. "True Grit's" ending was too abrupt, not really meshing with the rest of the narrative. Yes the older narrator Mattie Ross was at the beginning and the end, but I thought maybe she should of been somewhere in the middle as well? I guess what bothered me is that this seemed like a seminal moment in her life, and the movie was aware of that as well, but it played out awkwardly. The performances were good all around but some sort of genuine cohesion was missing, causing me to walk away not feeling much for the characters even though the Coens wanted me to. Maybe the script adaptation from the book just didn't allow for that flow because I felt like we were missing stuff when the ending, consisting of a five minute "wrap-up" in the present, seemed tacked on after such a dramatic scene of Bridges' Rooster Cogburn giving his all to save the life of this young girl--then--next scene, she's an old maid, never learned to be gracious(?) and seems bitter but always thankful for what Bridges' character did for her, stands at his grave in a beautiful shot with an Edward Gorey-like tree presiding over the frame--roll credits.
Bridges was wonderful and he totally immersed himself in whoever this lone ranger was, but the character just didn't hit me like Dicaprio's "Don Cobb" in "Inception" or Gosling's "Dean" in "Blue Valentine". I felt like those two guys left a part of them in those characters. They are not better actors, those roles just impacted me more emotionally.
As for Christopher Nolan not getting a director nomination, I really have no words. He probably directed four of the best movies of the last decade and you finally get around to giving one a best picture nod and even original screenplay but not best director. No, give it to the Coens who did an adaptation of something someone already did a film adaptation of; but then again this comes from an institution that doesn't nominate "The Dark Knight" and then a year later nominates "District 9" and "Avatar" for best picture (I don't care if there were ten spots to fill).
Well there you go, my objections are in (so far). It doesn't matter, but it does; I don't care, but I do. I am glad Aronofsky and Russell got nods. I think what would have been truly amazing is if "Exit Through The Gift Shop" got a Best Picture nomination. A documentary(?) in that category; ever happened? It's truly one of the best all around movies of the year and I would love to see a Bansky/Shepard Fairey/Mr. Brainwash spray paint brawl on the podium. Well, it did get nominated for best doc so maybe we will-- French side-burned Obama profiles cloaked in hoodies with no face interpretive dances and all! Ooh maybe Bansky will "deface" The Kodak Theater the night before and then Mr. Brainwash will take credit for it, selling the image to Madonna for yet another greatest hits album cover!
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