My Reaction to the 2010 Oscar Nominations

At long last, we have come to the end of the precursor season with the announcement of the 2010 Oscar nominations. I build myself up to this moment each year, anxiously awaiting the news of which films received nominations for the coveted Best Picture trophy. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences represents the pinnacle of the very best in film. It provides the definitive statement regarding films for a particular year and can legitimize those that deserve to be called classics. Yet like most rewarding bodies throughout the world, the Academy is not without its flaws. There is no doubt that the nominations for a given category are governed by consistent advertising and aggressive marketing campaigns. Those who can work around the politics of receiving an Oscar nomination usually stand the best chance of receiving an invitation to the Kodak Theater in late February or early March. And by all accounts, the Academy Awards can be seen as a glorified popularity contest. Yet there are some cases where either the film itself or certain performances stand out above all the studio spending and the incessant brown-nosing. It is in these situations where the Oscars can be considered an excellent source for honoring the very best in cinema. However, these moments of cinematic worship rarely occur and oftentimes we are left scrounging through the list of Oscar nominations looking for something to scratch our heads over. With that being said, the expansion of the Best Picture nominees to a field of ten this year gave the Academy a prime opportunity to honor the very best that cinema had to offer. They had a chance to perhaps restore some pride after their brutal ignorance of The Dark Knight and WALL-E in the Best Picture category last year. And of course, they blew it. How did they blow it? By including two films that quite frankly do not deserve to be called Best Picture nominees; two films that illustrate the Academy's need to avoid public scrutiny and to draw higher ratings for their beloved Oscar telecast. The names of those two films: The Blind Side and District 9.

To say that The Blind Side is now a nominee for Best Picture of 2009 leaves a disgustingly bitter taste in my mouth to the point where I might have to induce myself to vomit. Okay so perhaps I exaggerated myself a bit there. But even its supporters have to agree that The Blind Side is not one of the ten best films of the year. At most, the film is a small inspirational effort that has swept viewers off their feet on its way to grossing over $200 million at the box-office. It is a film that appeals to the masses; a film that speaks to the desires of the public rather than the critical necessities of appreciating cinema. People have brought into the performances of Sandra Bullock and Quinton Aaron, with most even shedding tears over the story of Michael Oher. It is a film that has affected a great many people in a very bewildering way. And now it has the undeserved honor of being called a Best Picture nominee. This is the kind of film that deserves to be a CBS Movie of the Week as opposed to a perennial Oscar nominee. To say that it has elevated itself into such sacred territory represents everything that is wrong with the Academy and why it is so flawed as an organization. Those who voted for The Blind Side as one of the ten best films should be ashamed of themselves not just for their ignorant ludicrousness, but also for the fact that they have pretty much guaranteed a Best Actress Oscar for Sandra Bullock. And in this humble blogger's opinion, Bullock should not win that award because her performance is average at best. Yet the Best Picture nomination has done wonders for Bullock's Oscar chances, especially since she has already collected the Golden Globe and the SAG. As a result, I think it's fair to say that The Blind Side will not go home empty-handed come Oscar night.

I'm not as angry about the fact that District 9 is nominated for Best Picture because truth be told, it is a well-made genre film. Director Neill Blomkamp created a fascinating blend of intense action and science fiction, using both as the basis for providing insightful commentary on apartheid. Yet for me, it is nothing more than a fast-paced summer action film masquerading as an important cinematic achievement. And for that reason, I hesitate in terms of naming it one of the ten best films of the year. I do praise its nominations for Adapted Screenplay, Film Editing, and Visual Effects. These are all very well-deserved as District 9 was one of the more intelligent and sophisticated science fiction endeavors of the last decade. It was very well-edited and provided a nice flow to the handheld photography instituted by Blomkamp to enforce the documentary look of the film. And the visual effects were certainly integral to the success of the film as well. I also feel that District 9 deserved nominations in the sound categories, where it was unfortunately snubbed, and for its production design as well. Like I said, it was a well-made genre film that deserved accolades for its technical prowess. Yet it certainly is not worthy of being named the Best Picture of 2009.

In terms of the big dogs, Avatar and The Hurt Locker tied for the most nominations with 9 a piece. Yet as I argued in previous articles regarding the two films, The Hurt Locker is the perennial favorite to win Best Picture on Oscar night because of its victories with the Producers Guild and the Directors Guild of America. As I've said before, Avatar does have multiple Golden Globe wins to its credit and remains the most captivating film of the year in a visual sense. There is also the noticeable distinction of how it is now the highest-grossing movie of all time domestically. It is similar to The Blind Side in that audiences have flocked to the theaters to see it on multiple occasions. Its story is epic and traditional in that it provides an austere balance between action and romance, which is something audiences around the world have responded to very well. There is no doubt that Avatar is the film of the year simply because everyone has seen it and no one can stop talking about it. However, The Hurt Locker is about to seen by everyone because it is known worldwide as the film that tied with Avatar for the most Oscar nominations. People will now look to video stores and Netflix to catch a glimpse of Kathryn Bigelow's intelligent and uncompromising study of the Iraq War. And when all is said and done, the relentless surge to experience The Hurt Locker on DVD will only add fuel to its already strong Oscar campaign and will no doubt assure it of an easy Best Picture win in March.

I was glad to see the Academy nominate A Serious Man for Best Picture because in this humble blogger's opinion, it is the best film of the year so far. I was disappointed to see Sherlock Holmes recognized in multiple categories because in spite of Downey Jr's devotion to the part, the film as a whole was incredibly dreadful. I was also disappointed with how Inglourious Basterds was snubbed for Art Direction and Costume Design, which was certainly one of the weirder announcements yesterday morning. The production and costume design for that film add vitality and credibility to the mise-en-scene that Tarantino is playing with. Both play integral roles in the unfolding of Tarantino's revenge fantasy and the film richly deserved nominations in both categories. Sadly, Inglourious Basterds had to settle for only 8 Oscar nominations and now sits behind Avatar and The Hurt Locker in the race for Best Picture. Yet I am very happy that Up became the second animated film in motion picture history to be nominated for Best Picture, a truly well-deserved honor to say the least. It's not going to win because that would be too big a leap for the Academy to handle. However, don't be surprised if it pulls off victories in the Original Screenplay and Original Score categories. With all that being said, here are my early predictions for this year's Oscar winners...

Best Picture: The Hurt Locker

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow = The Hurt Locker

Best Actor: Jeff Bridges = Crazy Heart

Best Actress: Sandra Bullock = The Blind Side

Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz = Inglourious Basterds

Best Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique = Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

Best Adapted Screenplay: Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner = Up in the Air

Best Original Screenplay: Mark Boal = The Hurt Locker

Best Cinematography: Avatar

Best Film Editing: The Hurt Locker

Best Original Score: Up

Best Art Direction: Avatar

Best Costume Design: The Young Victoria

Best Sound Mixing: Avatar

Best Sound Editing: Avatar

Best Visual Effects: Avatar

Best Makeup: Star Trek

Best Original Song: "The Weary Kind" = Crazy Heart

Best Foreign Language Film: The White Ribbon

Best Animated Feature: Up

Best Documentary Feature: The Cove

Best Documentary Short Subject: The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant

Best Animated Short Film: A Matter of Loaf and Death

Best Live Action Short Film: The Door

More Oscar updates to follow over the next month...stay tuned.