If I Picked the Winners: Best Picture 2010

     A few days before the 83rd annual Academy Awards, I thought it would be appropriate to rank the big kahuna of the Oscars: Best Picture. In the second year of the ten nominees experiment, I would still say it is a success, with a wide range of movies, although the diversity of films in this year's nominees isn't as great as last year. In this year's group, we have the expected dramatic fare ("The Social Network", "Black Swan", "127 Hours", "The Fighter") and period pieces ("The King's Speech", "True Grit"), but we also have an independent film ("Winter's Bone"), an animated film ("Toy Story 3"), a comedy ("The Kid's Are All Right"), and an action/fantasy film ("Inception").  It's a pretty good batch, without any obvious stinkers such as "The Blind Side" was last year, but there is also a lot of mediocrity on display. Many of the film's would be on my own personal ballot, but there were some key snubs that I would have liked to see on the list. First and foremost,  I would have loved to see the British "Another Year" make the cut. At the beginning of the Oscar season, it was commonly on the Best Picture list of many Oscar prognosticators, but as time went on, unfortunately the film was pushed aside for the buzz of bigger Hollywood fare. Had the film managed a more fully funded Oscar campaign, I wonder if it could have managed a nomination, but alas it was not to be. I would have also included the misunderstood and underappreciated "Shutter Island". It had an outside chance of getting in, but it just had too many critics to be a Best Picture nominee. Had it captured the nomination, it would have made Scorsese/DiCaprio 4 for 4 in terms of Best Picture nominations, but all good streaks must come to an end. Finally, if I had a ballot I would have also included "The American" and "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World", but they never really had a realistic shot at a nomination. It's time now to deal with the group we have, and rank this year's Best Picture nominees.

10. "The King's Speech"

     While some of you may not believe this, I do not put "The King's Speech" in last as some kind of petty act of (ineffective) revenge for what looks to be its inevitable victory come Sunday night. I don't hate "The King's Speech", I just think it will be a travesty, given its competition, to award the film Best Picture of 2010. When push comes to shove, in a binomial world, I would give it a thumbs up (although in a trinomial world I would give it a "rent it" or some other equivalent "in between" expression). The film is perfectly pleasant, but that's about where it ends. It's a story about a man, who happens to be the King of England, that overcomes a speech impediment. Nothing less, nothing more. Now this might have been fine if the journey to overcome the impediment was filled with interesting banter or bonding moments between therapist and patient, but while it had its moments here and there, the film was disappointingly lacking in this department. The other thing the film might have done is given us a more comprehensive understanding of the characters and their motivations, but just like with my first qualm, while they throw a bone or two in this direction, it is ultimately a token effort. The film simply seems to be covering its bases by crossing off the checklist of important plot points to include without adding any real depth to the background. It gives the film a half-hearted flavor. This is yet again apparent in the film's lame attempt to add conflict with a twist about Geoffrey Rush's character towards the end of the film that is resolved in a matter of moments and is never really consequential to begin with. If you want to know some history of the Royal family, the film will fulfill those needs in a mildly amusing way, but as a piece of cinema, it does not reach the level of "Best Picture" despite what the Academy may say come Oscar Sunday.

9. "The Fighter"

     "The Fighter" is a film that mostly gets by with it's excellent ensemble. Christian Bale as the flakey, narcissistic crack-head brother Dickey Eklund does a terrific job and will likely win Best Supporting Actor this weekend. Melissa Leo as the controlling mother of her two young boys, one who she clearly favors over the other, also gives one of the best performances in a supporting role this year. Then the there is the lead performance by Mark Wahlberg, who while not nominated or praised as heavily as his co-stars more showy roles, gives one of the best performances of his career as the stable center of the film that keeps it all rolling. Beyond these performances though is a film with a lot of chinks in its armor. First there is the story and script which relies heavily on the "sports film" themes as well as the "family devastated by addiction" tropes. It really adds nothing new to these familiar formulas and banks pretty heavily on their cliches. Some of the choices made by director David O. Russell also annoy. The switch back and forth between "realist" documentary shots (including too many close-ups) and a "Lowell, Massachusetts" working-class goofiness quickly becomes grating. The one area though where O. Russell does earn some praise is in the handling of the boxing sequences. While choosing to go hard on the "tried-and-true" route on almost every other aspect, in terms of the presentation of the boxing sequences there is true innovation. No slow-mo, no boxer's perspective, and no unrealistically long pep talks, instead O. Russell opts for the "fan watching television" perspective, with network presentation and actual "real-time" pacing of a sports event. It was a unique way to approach the sport and I thought it worked. Now only if he had found a unique approach to many other of the film's aspects and I might have considered ranking this film higher.

8. "True Grit"

     Regular readers of this blog will know I am a big fan of the films of the Coen Brothers, which is why it saddens me to have to put their 2010 Western, "True Grit", on the lower half of the rankings. When I first heard that the Coens' were adapting the Charles Portis novel in a film I thought, "Cool. They can take the interesting premise of the story, Coen it up, and we can have a perfectly twisted dark tale set in the West". Instead, what we got was an adaptation of a religious tome from devout zealots, too afraid to change anything that comes directly from the mouth of God. Now don't get me wrong, the source material is interesting enough, which is why the movie is still a good film, but you can't help but feel like there was some lost potential here. The Coens' version of novel also definitely outstripped the Henry Hathaway 1969 original starring John Wayne, but that isn't saying much (it almost feels like a backhanded complement). The parts of the film where you can still feeling the Coens' influence the most is in its visual presentation. Accentuating the dark-colored hues of the Western landscape (much as with their 2007 Best Picture winner "No Country for Old Men"), it gives the journey a very stark feeling, which is exactly what the situation calls for. Along with some fun unique shots (coming across a man hanging extremely high from a tree was probably my favorite), it proves why the Roger Deakins/Coen Borthers collaborations are some of the best auteur/DP (Director of Photography) tandems in the business today. While not living up to my lofty expectations, "True Grit" is still a good Western tale, even if it is one of the Coen's lesser works.

7. "Winter's Bone"

     Going into the film, I didn't know what to expect from "Winter's Bone". Other than hearing a lot of good buzz about Jennifer Lawrence's performance, and vaguely understanding the plot had something to do about life in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri, I really had no clue of the images that awaited me. Coming from the Sundance Film Festival, I guessed it would likely lean heavily on the realist side of cinema that I hate, but what made the film the pleasant surprise it was is how much it embraced the "crime-family" genre. I had never really contemplated the fact that there could be a meth-dealing hillbilly mafia (I guess I just figured that they got there meth from Mexican drug cartels or something like that), and the unique characters of this world and the dark treacherous path in which the film's heroine must go through in order to find the whereabouts of her missing father is what makes the film so captivating. Unfortunately, being a Sundance film after all, it doesn't completely stay clear of realist trappings. The setting of the Ozark Mountains is great, but the setting is most powerful when the film is solely focuses on the narrative, letting the background speak for itself. There are times though where the film dips into the whole, "look at how backwards and poor these people are" routine, and this actually weakens that whole point. Relishing in "poverty porn" comes off as self-conscious and annoying, as the fact that she must find her father because he put up their house for bail makes it pretty clear that no one in the area will be staying at the Ritz-Carlton any time soon. Luckily though these moments are relatively sparing, and the film does a great job at shining a light on a previously cinematically unexplored region of the country.

6. "Toy Story 3"

     As a fan of Pixar's first film growing-up as a child, it was nice to see them conclude the series in a fulfilling way. While not the awesome juggernaut that some critics made it out to be, "Toy Story 3" is a fun final visit into a world that is Pixar's best. The idea of toys living in their own secret world when no one else is looking fascinated me as a kid, and while as an adult the concept has lost some of it's luster, it was nice to see the evolution of this world as a child loses his need for toys. It was a good idea from Pixar, as it made the film relatable to the series' original audience. The film though is not able to completely escape from the common flaws of Pixar's films. For instance, it relies too heavily on running gags that are somewhat amusing at first, but begin to become tiresome by the film's conclusion. Then there is the number one problem that I have with all of Pixar's work: an action-sequence heavy final act. I don't know if they always feel that they have no where else to go or what, but if I want action, I want to see real-life guns firing and explosions going off, not some animated toys avoiding an incinerator. The other thing that made the original "Toy Story" so great, but that both its sequels were never able to capture, is the relationship between Woody and Buzz. The relationship between the two characters, as Woody was trying to bring the delusional Buzz Lightyear to the reality that he was not a space ranger, but a toy, is what made the original so touching. In both "Toy Story 2" and "Toy Story 3", Buzz becomes an uninteresting tangential character who has no real impact on the film's events. Despite these flaws, "Toy Story 3" is still miles ahead of the sea of generic animated films that have invaded movie theaters over the last decade or so, and it is a very nice send-off of my all-time favorite animated series.

5. "The Kids Are All Right"

     This film might win my "best pleasant surprise of the year" award if I gave out awards. I was really not expecting to like the film, as its set-up (two kids of lesbian parents meet their sperm-donor father), seemed liked a contrived excuse for Hollywood to yet again let us know how pro-gay they are. As I have mentioned before, I am not a fan of films that use the medium of cinema simply to preach at us from a soapbox because I view it as an abuse of the characters to manipulate their humanity in order to make a reductive political point, but for the most part, the film surprisingly avoids this typical trap. These are full-dimensional actual living and breathing human beings, not simply puppets labeled lesbian mom #1, lesbian mom #2, and chauvinistic sperm-donor dad. In a year without a lot of stand-out comedies, "The Kids Are All Right" is easily one of the funniest films of the year (along with the modern cinematic king of comedy Edgar Wright's film, "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World"), and the scene where Mark Ruffalo's character first meets his biological children at his "local foods" restaurant is one of my favorite scenes from any movie this year. The interaction between Julianne Moore and Annette Bening with their children, as well as with each other, is also quite humorous and feels very natural and realistic. The only weak spot in the film is its third act where it veers off into the melodramatic. This is also the only part of the movie where the characters start to act somewhat inauthentic (especially Ruffalo's character), but even this misstep is not as extreme as it might have been. Comedies are too often ignored by the Academy, and if the expansion to ten nominees for Best Picture make room for films such as "The Kids Are All Right", then I hope they continue on with this experiment.

4. "Inception"

     My level of expectation for Christopher Nolan's "Inception" was through the roof. Coming off of his absolute masterpiece that was "The Dark Knight" (numbering 25 on my all-time list), with a film that promised to look at the thin line between reality and dream (one of my favorite subjects), and starring one of the best leading actors of movies today in Leonardo DiCaprio, from the beginning this film had no chance of avoiding being somewhat of a disappointment. It speaks though to the level of talent of auteur Christopher Nolan that even though the film is one of his lesser works, not matching the intensity of "The Dark Knight" and exploring the nature of reality in a much more shallow and superficial manner than he did in 2000's "Memento", "Inception" is still one of the year's best films and ranks in the upper-half of the Best Picture nominees. First and foremost, from a visual stand-point the film is an absolute feast for the eyes. It would easily get my vote for Best Visual Effects and Best Art Direction, and I would probably also vote for Wally Pfister in the Best Cinematography category. Unfortunately where the film is weak is its story and screenplay. There is way too much exposition, as parts of the film come off more as a lecture than film, and this continues all the way through the film. Nolan is too focused on the concept of the film, instead of the ideas behind the concept, which lead to an overall weaker film experience. Unlike most, I was also not a fan of the film's ending, which seemed like a lazy cliffhanger that added no real depth to the character's plight. Nolan is a born auteur though, because even with these problems that would almost certainly kill any other production, Nolan manages to squeeze out an entertaining sci-fi/action flick that always captures your attention even while it is not fulfilling its full promise.

3. "Black Swan"

     A companion piece of sorts to Darren Aronofsky's 2008 film "The Wrestler", "Black Swan" also studies the necessary physical and emotional sacrifices that must be made to achieve greatness in a medium of art, though this time in the world of ballet instead of wrestling (and yes, that type of wrestling is at least as much of an art form as it is a sport). "Black Swan" chronicles Nina Sayers' decent into madness in order to achieve artistic sincerity, basically her version of swallowing the red pill in "The Matrix". Alternating between moments of dramatic decisions and gothic horror, Aronofsky does a remarkable job of permeating the film with an ever increasing sense of tension. Aronofsky also seems to have a penchant for mirroring his characters emotions and the world they inhabit in a very literal and visual way. Whether it is use circular camera motions during dancing sequences, Nina talking to "herself" in the mirror to represent her split personality, or images coming in and out of light and dark during the night club sequence (as is her personality), Aronofsky has fun giving the audience these clear "tip of the hat" moments to emphasize the emotional tones of his protagonist. Most of the time it works to the film's advantage, but in the case of the film's finale, borrowing from the ballet's use of simplistic, over-dramatic, grandiose fairy tale themes produces an ending that it too "on the nose" for my taste, leading to an anti-climatic finish of an otherwise excellent supernatural thriller. Despite the fact that the film fails to stick the landing, watching it endlessly pirouette was one of the more interesting experiences I had at the movie theater this year, and is why I consider "Black Swan" to be one of the year's best films.

2. "127 Hours"

     "127 Hours" would definitely win the Frank Capra award for "Most Heart-Warming Film of the Year". Telling the true harrowing story of Aaron Rolston, the young man in 2003 who had to amputate his own right arm with a pocket knife after it had become stuck in between a boulder and cliff wall after a hiking mishap in the red cliffs of Utah, there was not a film this year that made a bigger emotional impact on me than "127 Hours". Exploring the bewildering thoughts that might go through your mind if you became stuck in one spot, waiting for your inevitable death, at the heart of the film is a message of our shared interconnectedness (which back to the opening sentence of this paragraph, is a message Frank Capra would have appreciated). Rolston realizes that his attitude towards life and the people in his life all contributed to the predicament he currently faces, or as he puts it, "This rock has been waiting for me my entire life". The thing that really makes the movie stand out as one of the best of the year though is that way in which the tale is told. Instead of going the uber-realist route by focusing on the nitty-gritty details of what it's like to be stuck in a single spot, Danny Boyle, along with his screen writing cohort Simon Beaufoy, opted to go for a truly cinematic presentation, focusing on recreating the emotional impact of the events instead of the minutiae of the events. The way Boyle is able to control the pacing (which is aided by excellent use of licensed and original music), somehow bringing moments of joy, laughter, sadness, as well panic to a film whose protagonist is stuck in a single spot for the majority of the film, is probably its greatest accomplishment. It's too bad that that so many were apparently put off of the film because of its subject matter (amputating an arm), but the film is really not too gory (especially compared to modern horror films or say Taratino's "Kill Bill" series), so if you haven't seen it, I implore you to muster up some courage and rent it when it comes out to rent next Tuesday.

1. "The Social Network"

     Thus far, this blog has been as much as a "The Social Network" blog as anything else. My review for the film (which you can read by clicking here), was my very first post, I wrote a special article debating the nature of the Mark Zuckerberg of the film (click here to read), and I also included the film in my "Top 100 Films" (#86, click here to see), so by now this should come as no surprise that the film ranks at the top of my Best Picture nominees rank. "The Social Network" is everything a film should be. It has a interesting story, a strong sense of time and place, an incredible ensemble, a snappy fast-paced script with amazing dialogue, confident direction that perfectly captures the tone of the events, and what is always very important for me, a wonderful score that magnifies the emotions of every moment. Everyone was at the top of their game when making this film and should be extremely proud of their work. You can call it over-hyped hyperbole all you want (and many have), but this is a movie of the here and now. The word "zeitgeist" has hardly ever been more appropriate than in the description of "The Social Network". Ironically though, it appears to me that the film has become the victim of the very times it has so accurately encapsulated. The dynamic of building something up to the heavens with praise, until its unreachable holiness becomes an object of disdain for us lowly human beings, thus causing us to tear down our created God back to human stature, is an endlessly repeated cycle of the age of constant media. Its predictability is extremely tiring and unfortunate, for it leads to a level of cynicism that prevents some from appreciating a truly great accomplishment such as "The Social Network" as they might have otherwise, and come this Sunday, the dynamic will likely lead to a victory for "The King's Speech", instead of the early favorite "The Social Network". In the end though it doesn't really matter, because we will forever have this great movie with us, and time will let the film speak for itself.

     That's my last edition of this article before the awards ceremony, but I will continue with the other big four categories for this year in the next four weeks (although I have yet to see "Buitiful"). In the meantime leave any comments you want down below, and don't forget to vote for your favorite Best Picture nominee in the poll in the upper-left hand corner.