While I was mostly incoherently asleep for the nominations this morning (Tuesday is my flex day, and I didn’t HAVE to wake up, and I’m averse to 7:30am even on my best days), I have since had a chance to digest and I’ve got to say, I’m actually pretty pleased. Things to note:
Avatar vs. The Hurt Locker – These two movies both have 9 nominations total, and are the front-runners for Best Picture. I don’t really like the playing up of the James Cameron-Kathryn Bigelow competition that looks to be the lead for every Oscar story today. First of all, they were married a LONG time ago, for not all that long (1989-1991) and have remained friends. Cameron has publicly said that he thinks The Hurt Locker is a great film, notably when he accepted his Golden Globe for best director and said he thought Bigelow should have won. He’s called it his favorite film this year. Can we just let the movies stand on their own? Avatar was a breakthrough in terms of the CGI and the 3D, but it’s nothing special story-wise. I’m fine with it being included in the nominations. It’s groundbreaking, and I’m not being sarcastic. I saw Avatar in IMAX 3D last week. After hearing both that the special effects were jaw-dropping and that the story was boring (in some cases from the same person), I wasn’t expecting much from the movie itself, but I figured I should see it on as big a screen as possible to really enjoy the 3D. It didn’t disappoint in that regard, and the story was inoffensive. It reminded me of a kid’s movie, with heavy-handed themes and symbolism, and mostly simple caricatures rather than complex characters. But it wasn’t BAD. It’s just not, once you strip away the special effects, as good as The Hurt Locker.
Increasing the Best Picture field to 10 movies doesn’t seem to have affected the overall picture that much. Hopefully the inclusion of popular movies like The Blind Side, District 9 and Up will have little effect other than to boost viewers. I suppose, if nothing else, the inclusion of District 9 helps The Hurt Locker, as sci-fi fans among the voters may go there instead of Avatar when casting their vote. The apartheid-allegory should also benefit from it’s nomination when it comes to deciding who takes home the award for Adapted Screenplay. The Blind Side‘s inclusion boosts Sandra Bullock‘s chances in Best Actress, and Up should certainly not go home empty-handed, with 4 other nominations, one of which being Best Animated Feature.
There were some notable exceptions, in my opinion, in most categories. I would have liked to see Best Picture include Crazy Heart. The acting nominations were pretty solid, though I was sorry not to see Julianne Moore in Supporting Actress for A Single Man. Where the Wild Things Are was completely snubbed, and that suprised me. While it wasn’t narratively the best film, the wild things alone should have garnered some kind of art or visual effects award.
All in all, I’m looking forward to the show! We’re adding a trophy to the mix this year, it’s apparently my assignment to find something appropriate.
