We're at the finish line!
Thanks for embarking, readers. It's been fun.
Here are some things I want to share before I get to my favorite film of the year:
*My top 5 of 2009 were as follows:
5) In the Loop
4) Inglorious Basterds
3) Fantastic Mr. Fox
2) The Hurt Locker
1) District 9
In looking back, this is mostly consistent, but I would maybe move Inglorious Basterds up. That one was fantastic.
*There were a few movies I didn't get to see this year that I was interested in seeing. They are as follows:
Catfish
Get Low
I Love You Phillip Morris
Inside Job
Machete
Shutter Island
Welcome to the Rileys
Any other worthwhile ones I missed? Let me know. I'd like to see said movies eventually.
* I am unbelievably nerdy, but we have decided to have an Oscar-themed snack and dinner menu at the house. I heard my good buddy Jacy did this last year, and I thought it was kind of an awesome idea. Here's the menu:
DRINK:
Appletini (Social Network) and beer (The Fighter)
SNACKS:
Granola bars (127 Hours)
Hummus and french onion LAYERED dip (Inception)
The king's peach (The King's Speech)
Black forest ham and White Swiss crescent roll-ups (Black Swan)
DINNER:
Boston Baked Beans (The Fighter)
True Grits (True Grit)
Fried Chicken (Winter's Bone)
DESSERT:
Sour Patch Kids (Are All Right)
Cookies (Toy Story 3)
Cadbury chocolate (King's Speech)
Yeah....just huge, huge nerds.
And speaking of, I wanted to get a shout-out in regarding the shadow-blog written by the person who saw probably about 80% of these movies with me. Her take is funny and she is a good writer, so check it out!
*It's kind of a cool year because I don't really feel like anything will sweep tonight. Here's what I think about the big categories:
Supporting Actor SHOULD WIN: Christian Bale, Fighter
Supporting Actor WILL WIN: Christian Bale, Fighter
Supporting Actress SHOULD WIN: Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom
Supporting Actress WILL WIN: Toss-up between Fighter gals, but I'm going to say Melissa Leo.
Best Actor SHOULD WIN: Colin Firth, King's Speech or James Franco, 127 Hours
Best Actor WILL WIN: Firth.
Best Actress SHOULD WIN: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Best Actress WILL WIN: Portman.
Best Screenplay Adapted SHOULD WIN: Aaron Sorkin, Social Network
Best Screenplay Adapted WILL WIN: Sorkin.
Best Screenplay Original SHOULD WIN: Toss-up: Lisa Cholodenko, Kids Are All Right or Various, The Fighter
Best Screenplay WILL WIN: Fighter.
Best Cinematography SHOULD WIN: Wally Pfister, Inception
Best Cinematography WILL WIN: Matthew Libatique, Black Swan (also very good)
Best Picture WILL WIN: King's Speech
Best Picture SHOULD WIN:.......
#1 Inception
The reason this one takes it for me is because it truly does feel like the full package.
My buddy Andy was the first to bring up the film's main weakness with me, and others have since commented on it: There is a fair amount of over-explaining. There is enough time taken out to explain exactly what's going on that it takes away from things like developing any other character besides DiCaprio's Cobb.
And I agree. But I don't know that it matters.
I've seen it three times now, and the last time I watched it, I was with someone that kind of needed a little extra explanation. So I get why Nolan went that direction. Those of us that are movie goons find it a little annoying, sure, but whatever.
You really can't compare with the ingenuity of Inception this year. Visually, the combination of the cinematography and the effects is gonzo, mind-blowing even. Hans Zimmer's score is far and away the best of year; it gets in my head more than I'd like to admit. The cast, three of which have appeared in Christopher Nolan films previously, is top-notch, with DiCaprio leading the charge and Joseph Gordon-Leavitt's sleek Arthur a close second. The script, save the aforementioned overtelling, is incredibly original, and the fact that Nolan gets to work within the world of the dream means there's basically no limit to the creativity he gets to employ. The story is engaging and the ending--man, that ending.
DiCaprio's Cobb, a professional dream thief, is a joy to watch, through all his insanity and flaws. I read that Nolan wrote the script with his dream infiltration team mirroring that of a film, with Cobb as the director, Arthur (Gordon-Leavitt) as the producer, Areadne (Ellen Page) as the writer, Eames (Tom Hardy) as the actor, and Saito (Ken Wantanbe) as the financier.
Every time I watch it, I get sucked in. It's impossible not to. And I notice new things each time I see it.
When you can watch a 2 hour and 20 minute movie about corporate espionage in the background of dreams and not feel a minute of dead space, you know you're getting somewhere.
That'll do it for this year. Agree? Disagree? Agree to disagree? Be sure to let me know.
Take care and I'll see you later on in the blogosphere!
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