The Road to the Oscars, Part II

Taken from the Web

The Oscars are fast approaching and my goal of watching all ten best picture nominees before February 27 is still at the top of my priority list. So how far have I gotten?  In the course of the week, I managed to watch two more nominees, bringing me to a grand total of four out of ten! Yes, I’m aware that at this rate I won’t even be close to finished before Oscar night rolls around and, to be perfectly honest, the internet has proven to be a significantly less reliable source of films than most anti-pirating ads would have me think. Illegality aside, however, I’m staying positive and hoping to knock out six more films by the end of the week.

On a related note, due to an inefficient immune system I spent a very strange Wednesday afternoon slipping in and out of fever dreams rather than attending class. The reason I mention this is because despite critical acclaim, I still preferred my fever dreams to the first movie on the agenda: Inception.

Let me be very clear: I did not really like this movie. Now, I was looking forward to Inception for a while, particularly after Peter Travers practically built a shrine around it in his review. Watching Inception reminded me of why it’s always good to see a movie for yourself before you form an opinion on it. For all its supposed depth, Inception is actually pretty damn shallow. This was supposed to be an action movie that made you think, but all I was thinking while watching was “Oh look, Ellen Page’s character wandered unnecessarily into the scene again.” and “Snowmobiles? Really?” Let’s not get caught up on little stuff, however – let’s talk about the nominations.

Inception is being nominated for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best…jeez this list is long. Okay, it’s got eight nominations, let’s just focus on what matters most. If Inception gets Best Picture, I will make the reasonable assumption that Christopher Nolan sent Leo into the Academy’s collective dreams to plant the idea there. This movie is OKAY at best, and I feel like that’s being generous. It does not deserve a Best Picture nomination at all in my opinion, and if it weren’t for the expansion to ten nominees it probably wouldn’t even be getting one.

Best Original Screenplay? Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me, there were more clichés flying from Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s mouth in the first fifteen minutes of this movie than there were from the rest of the characters combined. The mediocre writing in this movie is baffling. Why wasn’t it written better?

But I’m being critical; what does Inception do right, you might be wondering? It’s got Best Visual Effects on lockdown, and Best Cinematography is also a strong probability. I can’t even recall the score though, so sorry Hans Zimmer (the poor guy has been trying to snag another Oscar since The Lion King).

Aside from that, I really don’t know what people saw in this movie. I mean, sure the cast is incredibly charming and well-dressed and the budget is through the roof, but the characters are underdeveloped and it runs a full half-hour longer than necessary. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a visionary film and I feel like some great films will come about because of it, but it’s ultimately pretty forgettable in my opinion.

Now for a film that was not forgettable. Yes, that’s right, I’m about to start praising The Social Network. Why? Because The Social Network is a very good movie. I wouldn’t say it’s the greatest movie I’ve ever seen, or that it’s the voice of the digital age, or that I need to see it again and again, but I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. The writing is so razor-sharp I’m willing to bet you could stick a butter knife in-between the pages of the script and pull out a sword.

There are no bad performances here, not even from Brenda Song. Yes, it plays god with the facts and it’s probably the most overhyped movie in years, but Brenda Song is good in this movie! Do you see the gravity of that? As for Best Actor, I think Jesse Eisenberg definitely deserves the nod and part of me wants him to get it, but I don’t think he will. The Academy’s no doubt got a crush on Mr. Darcy – I mean, Colin Firth – and I think we all know how they feel about giving Best Actor to anyone under thirty, unless you’re Adrian Brody.

The Social Network is the best bet for Best Picture that I’ve seen so far. In fact, I’d say it’s my first choice, not because it’s my favorite movie of the year, but because I honestly think it deserves it. The whole film was simply executed so well on just about every front. Of course keep in mind that as a male aged 18-35, I’m required by law to love anything David Fincher puts his hands on, due to his direction of the movie Fight Club. As I mentioned last week, The Social Network has Best Adapted Screenplay written all over it, and it’s got a great chance of Best Director, Best Film Editing, and Best Original Score (even if you don’t like Nine Inch Nails, Trent Reznor does a good job here).

Six movies to go! That sounds like a lot, but don’t lose hope. I have an unnamed and legal movie source for the coming week, so my final predictions are on the way. Also: I apologize if True Grit ends up being so awesome that I forsake watching the other movies out of pointlessness. Don’t blame me; blame the Coen Brothers. •