January 25, 2011

The Academy Awards nominations.

Here's the live-stream of the announcement, beginning right now!

UPDATE: Man, they have so many nominees for Best Picture now that they're forced to include movies that aren't even good! I say that with confidence even though I've seen none of the nominated films.

UPDATE2: The list of nominees is at the link. Just scroll down. Now, if I were going to go see a few of these movies — partly so watching the Oscars might be fun and partly to actually see a good movie — what would I see? I'll make a list:
  1. True Grit
  2. The Social Network
  3. The Fighter
  4. The King's Speech
  5. Black Swan
The chances of my getting even that far are very low. The chances of my getting even to #1 are only about 50%. I would find it an ordeal to go even to 2. If I have 3 free hours, I would rather sit at the computer and read assorted items on the internet. I have an active resistance to going to the movies. I don't want to go see "Black Swan." I feel so detached from the machinery of movie promotion that is designed to force me to see "Black Swan." I'm not going to do it.

75 comments:

Scott M said...

Prediction:

True Grit gets 5 nominations (and will win big.

Tron gets a couple of technical nods.

If Nick Cage's Season Of The Witch were released a week earlier it would qualify for 2010 and definitely be nominated for both best Nick Cage Wig and Absolute Lack Of Accent By The Entire Cast categories.

Fen said...

Another awards adfhkjaghl jdfgh 'sldjkg

*snooze*

Shanna said...

My cousin said Black Swan was both really good and really disturbing and creepy. I'm not sure if that's a recommendation or not.

Everybody I talked to who has seen True Grit loved it, though. And that's about half the people I work with.

Cheryl said...

We only go see movies in the theater about once a year, because they usually aren't worth the trouble. But we saw True Grit last weekend, and it is well worth the time and sitting in a dark room with strangers. Really, really just loved it, but I'm still not sure Jeff Bridges knew he was in a movie.

Cheryl said...

Okay, and now that I've looked at the "Best Picture" nominees, WTH? Have more than five people collectively seen half of those movies?

And Hailee Steinfield was the center of True Grit, not the support, and I can't believe Matt Damon wasn't on the "Supporting Actor" list for that movie, too. Stupid.

Anonymous said...

The Kings Speech is quite good. I highly recommend it.

Anonymous said...

My cousin said Black Swan was both really good and really disturbing and creepy. I'm not sure if that's a recommendation or not.

Natalie Portman eating out Mila Kunis?

I just got an Oscar, IYKWIMAITTYD.

Matt said...

The King's Speech was amazing, I recommend you at least see it.

Fred4Pres said...

King's Speech is very good. If you have to see one, go see that.

I hear the same about True Grit. I will check that out.

Took my son to Tron. He liked it. I have to admit liked the latex dipped ladies of Tron. I cannot see it winning anything other than technical awards.

Black Swan will be DVD I am afraid. I hear it is ok but very creepy. Sorry, I do not pay $10 for creepy anymore.

Anonymous said...

I also haven't seen any of the nominated films, and don't have any desire to do so.

Might watch them when they finally land on TV.

Might be lack of intellectual curiosity on my part. Or, it could be that I've just learned to expect absolutely nothing from movies.

Avatar was the last big movie I saw. Fortunately, I didn't pay for it. I saw it for free while I was on cruise. The special effects were great. The movie was a brain dead dud.

It's time for the Holodeck.

TMink said...

I love film, but go to the movies only occasionaly. The other patrons are too loud, the popcorn is pre-popped and a bit stale, they do not serve alcohol, the movie is often out of focus, and the sound often sucks.

At home with a modest surround sound system I can kick the theater's butt and my popcorn is cheap and killer. Oh yeah, and the bar is open at Trey's theater.

Trey

Fred4Pres said...

Ann, any drinking words proposed for the SOTU? Maybe Obama should have announced the nominees for the Accademy Awards?

Fred4Pres said...

They have second run theaters near my hous that serve beer, wine, cocktails and food. And you can bring the kids. Those are always fun. The seats are old couches.

I recommend them highly if you can wait a few months for a film.

Scott M said...

Ann, any drinking words proposed for the SOTU?

I vote for, "Let me be clear" followed by a close second, "together".

X said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
TS said...

Time for a poll.

My vote: The King's Speech.

magpie said...

The only one of these movies I'd be willing to sit through again, happily, is The King's Speech.

Anonymous said...

"Ann, any drinking words proposed for the SOTU?"

Just two should get you sloshed:

* Investment ("wasteful spending")

* Competitive ("you aren't working hard enough to keep your job so they gave it to a 10-year-old Chinese girl.")

Obama will borrow to spend your kids tax dollars to help his union thugs, while you figure out a way to compete with Chinese slaveworkers.

See, only when you figure out how to compete against slaves can you win the future.

There, I just saved you 40 minutes of your life. You don't have to waste it watching a corrupt criminal tell you to work harder, bitch.

TWM said...

True Grit is excellent and the girl who played Mattie earned the Oscar nomination for sure.

Toy Story II or III or whatever is is - I never saw it, but people tell me it was fantastic - doesn't stand a chance cause it's animated.

Never saw the rest and other than The King's Speech (which I will watch on HBO at some point) and Black Swan (which I will also watch on HBO sometime just to see Portman get in on with that other chick), I never will see any of them.

markbres said...

Although it didn't do much at the box office, I am surprised no one has mentioned Winter's Bone. I'd put that and King's Speech at the head of the class.

Earth Girl said...

We stopped going to the movies about ten years ago, but finally decided to see The King's Speech. If they made more movies like that, we may go more often. Yes, time for a poll.

MayBee said...

Have you seen Toy Story 3?

I haven't seen True Grit, but my family tells me it is actually quite funny. I bet you'd like it.
I'm going to see The Kings Speech this weekend. It will be my husband's second time seeing it.

Sixty Bricks said...

Must you go to the theater? I have seen 4 of those movies already on Stagevu for free.

Laika said...

I won't waste 5 seconds getting worked up about a bunch of narcissists handing trophies to one another, but The King's Speech was fantastic.

PaulV said...

Whenever Obama says "I" stand up and change seats and shout Jack Lalanne. Oh that is for those present for SOTU.

Freeman Hunt said...

Winter's Bone is better than anything in your list.

And Black Swan was, perhaps, better than True Grit, which was also good apart from the ending.

Freeman Hunt said...

The Social Network is ridiculously overrated.

traditionalguy said...

I too thought MLK's I Have a Dream Speech was a good one...but why is there a whole movie about it? As a southerner I can also recommend true grits with breakfast. I may be out of touch here.

Freeman Hunt said...

The reason so many media types like The Social Network is that social networking is the it thing in media and marketing right now.

kjbe said...

The Social Network is ridiculously overrated.

Yeah, I'm getting the appeal of that one. As for the other 'bests', I've seen 3 of them. Inception was meh, while I enjoyed Toy Story 3.

With the new BluRay, it's likely we'll get to the theaters much. That's more likely to happen on dinner & a movie nights with the girl friends.

Tara van Brederode said...

See Winter's Bone and skip the rest. The lead actress (also nominated for an Oscar) is excellent. And when else will you see a movie set in the Ozarks redneck meth belt?

My husband was unimpressed by True Grit (and usually loves anything Coen). I'll wait for the rest (if I see them at all) on DVD.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Living out in the boon tullies, we don't get the first run movies until everyone else has seen them.

However, True Grit did come to our local theater a few weeks ago. The theater was packed every night and at the Sunday matinee.

Great film. Full of good acting, action and grit. What it didn't have? Sex, swearing, nudity, vulgarity.

Who knew? You can make a good movie without those things. :-D
I'm looking forward to the King's Speech for the very same reasons.

BTW: We have real butter on our freshly made popcorn at the local theater

Ann Althouse said...

"They have second run theaters near my hous that serve beer, wine, cocktails and food. And you can bring the kids. Those are always fun. The seats are old couches. I recommend them highly if you can wait a few months for a film."

Yeah, I have that too. It's so near my house that it is my house. And your kids aren't there.

Trooper York said...

Ann Althouse said...
Yeah, I have that too. It's so near my house that it is my house. And your kids aren't there


Jeeez. Somebody got up on the wrong side of the breakfast pizza this morning.

Trooper York said...

Movies are so 1970's. Nobody cares. You have to sit home tweeting on your I-phone while you are watching a reality show in HD.

And that's not hdhouse by the way.

Freeman Hunt said...

I don't see why True Grit is up for best adapted screenplay when it was better adapted in 1969.

Jeff Bridges should get some sort of special award for being good in every role he's ever played.

chuck b. said...

True Bone
The King's Grit
Social Swan
The Black Fighter
Winter's Speech

Black Swan was a popcorn-friendly version of Roman Polanski's Repulsion. Great fun, really. Thumbs up.

Winter's Bone was good until the end, and then it was like "Gosh, they could have just done that in the first place. Sure would have saved everyone a lot of trouble. People are so inconsiderate."

I want to see True Grit and The King's Speech.

William said...

My God, who doesn't want to see a movie about the King of England overcoming a speech impediment? People think it's so easy being King. It's about time more attention was paid to the sorrows and tribulations that these noble creatures have endured to make our world a better place......Same with ballet dancers. It takes a lot of determination and a certain amount of madness to dance on your tippy toes. It was on my must see list until I read that Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis kept their clothes on during the lesbo scene. I bet there aren't any locker room scenes where the girls change into their ballet uniforms either.....I did see True Grit. It was a fine western. The colors and the mood were more sombre than the John Wayne version as I remember it, but it's an excellent movie. I suppose the ending was faithful to the book (which I haven't read), but it was, nonetheless, subversive of the theme of the movie. Mattie is the vessel of civilization. She should not die barren and disabled.

Trooper York said...

This week will be the reunion show for the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," the second week of auditions for American Idol, and the Finale of the "Fashion Show" where Vietnamese Hobbit Calvin made the top three. Oh and the big competition for hair and markup in New Jersey Fashion week on Jerseylicious. And on Storage Wars they are gonna open Garage Mahals storage unit to find a bunch of stained Green Bay Packer costumes with the skeletons of roadkill dinners and stuff. Just sayn'

Trooper York said...

Did I tell you lately that the Green Bay Packers are gonna win the Super Bowl?

I saw it in the movies.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Yeah, I have that too. It's so near my house that it is my house. And your kids aren't there

Ha ha ha...this really made me laugh out loud!

BigFire said...

Apparently Inception directed itself.

Bob From Ohio said...

As usual, I saw only the cartoon.

Other than Lord of the Rings, I have not seen a live action nominee for Best Picture in 20 years or more. Even on TV now that I think of it. Only True Grit would interest me.

ToyStory3 was very good but not as good as #1. The trilogy is excellent.

jr565 said...

Fred4Pres wrote:
Black Swan will be DVD I am afraid. I hear it is ok but very creepy. Sorry, I do not pay $10 for creepy anymore.

I don't pay ten for ANYTHING anymore. Last time I went to a movie in NYC (which was about two weeks ago) it was 13 dollars.

chuck b. said...

The 127 Kids are Social.

jr565 said...

"They have second run theaters near my hous that serve beer, wine, cocktails and food. And you can bring the kids. Those are always fun. The seats are old couches. I recommend them highly if you can wait a few months for a film."


They USED to have a nice $3 dollar a ticket movie theater near my house in NYC. Best bargain in town. But of course they had to close it. Sons of bitches.

jr565 said...

-cont-
They didn't serve beer or wine at the second run theater, but it didn't stop people from bringing their own booze.

Scott M said...

One of the biggest, nicest, first-run theaters here in STL serves alcohol quite readily...albeit at extremely inflated prices.

knox said...

Toy Story II or III or whatever is is - I never saw it, but people tell me it was fantastic - doesn't stand a chance cause it's animated.

Pixar makes the most consistently good--great, actually--movies, and they are routinely snubbed.

But it's the Oscars...crap like "The English Patient" routinely wins.

I really liked "True Grit". Moving and unexpectedly *very* funny.

Jana said...

I found the newer version of "True Grit" much closer to the original source material.

True Grit was very enjoyable, Social Network was quite overrated (worth a rental, I think), and Winter's Bone was beyond excellent.

knox said...

True Bone
The King's Grit
Social Swan
The Black Fighter
Winter's Speech


LOL

This makes me think of that trend where all the titles are "Chasing Amy" "Saving Silverman" "Boxing Helena". There's about 20 of them like that.

Julie C said...

Can't wait to see True Grit. Took the whole family to see King's Speech, partially because one of my sons is a stutterer. We all enjoyed it. The R rating is kind of silly. Helena Bonham Carter was fantastic as was the divine Colin Firth. I can't believe HBC is closing in on 50. She looks great.

We saw Social Network last weekend. I really enjoyed it, in the same way I enjoyed The Insider. There was suspense in a way you wouldn't expect suspense (we all know how it turned out!). The guy who played Mark Zuckerberg was really good. As much as I hate Aaron Sorkin's politics the guy can write some snappy dialogue.

jr565 said...

Had no interest in Black Swan till I read that there is a lesbian scene between Portman and Kunis. Now its a definite bittorrent download. Still wont waste money on it though.

Mary Martha said...

I highly, highly recommend seeing the Kings Speech. It is very, very good. It was the best of the movies on your list.

I HATED The Black Swan. Hated, hated, hated. I went with a friend and we both keep discussing how horrible it was.

Social Network is overhyped blah. Sorkin is a one trick pony and the talking fast thing was old with the West Wing.

True Grit and The Fighter are both quite good and I would say they are both worth watching at home on a snowy winter night.

BJM said...

I'm not going to do it.

Then you will miss one the most powerful scenes in the cinema in decades.

The editing and Portman's transformation into the black swan queen is riveting.

Portman's fearless performance is as good as it gets. The only other glimpse of her range was in the badly paced "Closer".

You will not see the ending coming.

We really enjoyed "The King's Speech"...but I must admit I'd watch Firth read the phone book.
However, that doesn't take away from Firth giving the performance of his career and Rush offers up another quirky, but believable character. Bonham Carter resisted chewing the scenery and delivered a nuanced performance.

@Florida

Natalie Portman eating out Mila Kunis?

T'was Mila doing the rug munching.

Sorry, but I didn't care for "True Grit", I'll stay with the original.

"The Fighter" was good, but not best picture worthy, Bale certainly upped his game, but Firth leaves him in the dust.

I haven't seen "Inception" and "The Kids Are All Right" was a smarmy PC snooze fest.

Will Beatty pulls strings for Bening? If so and Portman loses it will be the robbery of the century thus far.

Saint Croix said...

WTH? Have more than five people collectively seen half of those movies?

Yeah. I've seen eight of them.

Winter's Bone . Awesome. Best picture of the year. Nobody's in it. No hype. Totally authentic, totally cool. About mountain people and drug running in the mountains and this girl trying to find her missing father who was mixed up with drug dealers and her psycho uncle and everybody's related cause they're all mountain people and they all have guns and nobody voted for Obama. It's awesome. Good movie for Ann.

True Grit. Better than the original, I think. I think Ann would like it okay.

Toy Story 3 Pretty good. Overrated. First one is way better. Ann doesn't like cartoons.

The Fighter. Blue collar boxing movie. Like Rocky except much more realistic. Mark Wahlberg is the boxer and Batman is his crackhead older brother. Batman is getting all the props but Wahlberg is totally underrated. Amy Adams is one of the best actresses working right now. Ann likes Amy Adams but is bored with the boxing.

The King's Speech This is an overcoming-of-the-handicap movie. There have been a thousand of these, and there will be a thousand more. Oscar never gets tired of people overcoming the handicap. Oscar also likes royalty. Royalty overcoming a handicap, wow. Ann thinks the acting is good, but doesn't think the movie is all that.

Inception Really cool set pieces but it doesn't grip emotionally. In the climax, they're all asleep. Ann won't like this.

The Kids Are All Right Kinda fun. Mean lesbian and unfaithful lesbian borrow Mark Ruffalo's sperm and have two kids and then the kids want to meet daddy. And there are shenanigans. I swear Mark Ruffalo's character is like a man designed by lesbians. I mean, what man sings along to Joni Mitchell? Ann might like this one.

The Social Network Maybe the most misogynist movie I've seen in a good long time. I've acquitted Mark Zuckerberg of his crimes. I'm convinced Aaron Sorkin is the guilty party here. This one will send Ann right to her blog.

Crimso said...

Not feeling the love for Inception. Probably only the 2nd movie I've seen in a theater/drive-in over the last 10 yrs. Went because my son wanted to see it. Knew nothing about it. I thought it was quite good and necessarily confusing, requiring less suspension of disbelief than the idea that Marxism works.

Scott M said...

Inception was too long for the ultimate payoff it delivered...which was quite good, I will admit...but nonetheless I thought it was worth it.

News in over the weekend on fanboy sites has Keanu returning for Matrix 4 and 5, a Bill & Ted third installment, and $5 million price paid by Warner Bros to the Wachowski brothers for a future-era Robin Hood story with Will Smith as the lead. All of the aforementioned aren't rumors, apparently, but projects with bona fide green lights.

ricpic said...

True Grit and The King's Speech are both first rate.

I find it fascinating that "sitting in a dark room with strangers" is something that Cheryl will only chance once a year. It used to be a real excitement to go out and be amongst strangers, whether in a legitimate theater, movie house, concert hall, cafe or restaurant. It was called going out on the town. Something has changed in people. Something big.

Anonymous said...

"T'was Mila doing the rug munching."

This fact has not diminished my raging Oscar one little bit.

Sorry, but I'll be burning this off the Netflix rental too. No way I could go to a theatre and watch this.

I'd get arrested.

Cheryl said...

Okay, ricpic, I'll bite. I don't think of any of those other things as "sitting in a dark room with strangers," especially not a restaurant! Watching a movie is just about the most passive "going out" that there is, and I'd just rather do it where I have my own sofa and fridge and dog close by. All of the other things, including live theater, feel more active to me and so I enjoy doing those. That's all.

But True Grit was worth the trip. So was "Toy Story 3" which I took all four of my kids, plus three neighbors, to in the middle of the summer.

wv: megarat. Hmmmm.....

Cedarford said...

Matt said...
The King's Speech was amazing, I recommend you at least see it.

==================
Yeah a great movie. But I'm a little sick of Hollywood going goo-goo over anything "Royal" and giving bonus points for a British accent.
Fuck the Brits. Vote American!

***************

Freeman Hunt - "Jeff Bridges should get some sort of special award for being good in every role he's ever played."

It goes with his stunning versatility! He has played Jeff Bridges being a young Dude, bad Dude, THE Dude, and now charmingly Jeff Bridges crotchety old Dude.

He is much better than Dude Bro Beau, though.

michaele said...

I found True Grit surprisingly charming...must have been because none of the characters ever used a contraction. Hence, their speech had an interesting contrast to the roughness of their appearance. Also, the formal speaking style softened the violence...funny it had that effect on me. Loved everything but the ending.

ricpic said...

I see everyone's doing the proper bow to Winter's Bone, a numbingly dreary film about the numbingly dreary untermenschen.

Saint Croix said...

I see everyone's doing the proper bow to Winter's Bone, a numbingly dreary film about the numbingly dreary untermenschen.

Yeah, cause when you bitch about the "subhuman," it's always a good idea to use German.

ricpic said...

Okay, they're subhuman. Happy now?

Saint Croix said...

And she behaved far more honarably and courageously than all the Ivy League sucks in that film about the oberklasse.

Doug said...

Winter's Bone was outstanding, as was True Grit (and almost every single thing the Coen Brothers have been involved in). Toy Story 3D was great fun, but Oscar can't bless a kiddie movie. I didn't give Inception a fair shake since I saw it at a crappy beach cinema with a lousy sound system. I will rent, but Chris Nolan needs to rein himself in a little.

jr565 said...

I was mildly disappointed by True Grit. I went in thinking I was going to love it, but it actually left me a bit cold. it's a bit antiseptic for a western and it was a bit too slow and casual for my tastes. One example, the "bad guy" is actually kind of a pitiful loser, and not all that scary at all.
Don't get me wrong, I liked it and thought the performances were great, but I didn't love it.

Jason (the commenter) said...

Wow, Althouse can't even gather up the strength it takes to sit through a single movie. Somehow, I would have thought getting married would energize her, instead she just sounds old.

I agree with everyone who recommended Winter's Bone. That movie was thrilling. This year also had Exit Through the Gift Shop and Heartbeats. (Even the trailer for Heartbeats is pretty magnificent.)

This was a great year!

rcocean said...

Yep Jason, Althouse is "old" because only young people are dumb and ignorant enough to sit through boring crap movies that are nothing more than badly made rehashes of the same old, same old.

And if you didn't like the original "True Grit", don't bother with the new one - its not that different. Its just like the old movie - the plot and characters are the same - but with a bigger budget and better direction.

john marzan said...

i've seen:

black swan,
127 hours,
the king's speech,
inception,
true grit,
the fighter,
the kids are all right,
the social network
toy story 3

prof ann, i recommend you watching black swan, the social network

blake said...

As Chuck says, Black Swan is Roman Polanski's Repulsion meets Swan Lake.

BJM said, "You will not see the ending coming."

Dude, I saw the ending coming from the trailer. So did my 15-year-old son (who's never seen Repulsion or any other movies in the genre). Movies like that really have only one ending.

Least surprising movie ever. To its credit, I still enjoyed it.

Also, the Kunis/Portman scene isn't really hot. It isn't meant to be (I don't think.) There is a momentarily hot Portman solo scene.

blake said...

I've, of course, seen all the movies except The Kids Are All Right because I object to a movie called that not being about The Who.

OK, it just looked so aggressively PC, that my spidey-sense kept me away. I think it's probably good but it's so hard to tell when a movie "has the right message".

It was really kind of a "meh" year. Usually I find several gems among the foreign/indie/low-budget/documentary selection, but most of even the best movies this year seemed lesser.

Surprised to see no Get Low on the list.

Freeman Hunt said...

I thought the ending of True Grit was anti-feminist.