The big news for the 2010 Oscars is that they have decided to increase the number of nominees for best picture from five films, which has been the standard for the past several decades to ten films. The reason behind the growth is to include box office favorites along with typical art house or critically acclaimed films. The list of ten best picture nominees was announced on ABC this morning:
1. Avatar – James Cameron’s high tech and high economy fantasy adventure about a marine catapult on a hostile alien planet.
2. In the Air – Jason Reitman’s critically acclaimed adaptation of Walter Kern’s new comic. The movie stars George Clooney as Ryan Bingham, a businessman with nearly 10 million frequent flyer miles with his company. decides to resect in travel.
3. The Hurt Locker – Considered by many to be the best dramatization of the Iraq War. This is a well-acted and compelling military drama.
4. Precious – Based on the novelty “Put” of sapphire. This sad, gritty drama about abuse and inner-city life is surprisingly uplifting. “Precious” features exceptional performances from Mo’Nique and newcomer, Gabourey Sidibe.
5. District 9 – Neill Blomkamp tells this technically brilliant story about alien refugees who are stuck in modern-day South Africa.
6. Until – This is another animated masterpiece from the Pixar studios. It is a painful, well-made story about a 78-year-old salesman.
7. Inglourious Basterds – Quentin Tarantino’s comic bath of blood, which takes place in Nazi Germany, occupied France.
8. Education – This is a delightful coming-of-age story about a delightful newcomer, Carey Mulligan as a young woman intent on studying at Oxford.
9. A Serious Man – An imaginative dark comedy from the Coen Brothers that explores questions of faith, immortality and criminal behavior.
10. box office hit and feel good watching movies Sandra Bullock as a woman who takes a young, black football star into her family .
Most of those named are less surprising than sorry. Cameron’s “Avatar” and Reitman’s “Up in the Air” are strong favorites. These two films are very different for very different reasons, “Avatar” was named for the incredible special effects of the film, while “Up in the Air” can attribute its success to a clever script and good work by the three leads. My prediction is that “Avatar” will win the Oscar. The surprising inclusion of “The Blind Side” is that while the film did well and was successful at the box office, it is not the type of film that is typically recognized by the Academy.
In my opinion, the Academy included all the films that should be on the list. Some may be confused that the box office has excluded “Hangover” from the list, but I think it would have been more surprising to see it included. Well done, the consumer comedy “Juliet and Juliet” could be caught and Trekkies may be confused that the new Star Trek movie has been scorned. All in all, the movements of the five to ten nominees allowed the Academy to recognize some popular films that might otherwise have been hidden. Their decision may not only increase the number of viewers of the Oscar Ceremony on Sunday, March 7, but will undoubtedly increase the number of viewers of the ten nominated films.
Sources:
ABC News
www.rottentomatoes.com
