Best Picture 2010

This will be a long post since I don't really want to split it up into two parts. Luckily, only the next one will be 10 movies until we get down into the 1930s, but that's a long way away.

2010 Best Picture

The King's Speech

This is Oscar bait at its finest. A movie that is overly sentimental for the sole sake of being sentimental. The movie tries hard to distance itself emotionally from the viewer only to come back at points and really hit the viewer over the head with insincere tosh. I actually enjoyed the historical aspects of the film and Firth is deserving of his Oscar but the movie is too complacent and formulaic about a royal family I'm not emotionally engineered to. The relationship between Bertie and Lionel doesn't feel realistic and we are left with a movie that plays it safe knowing it just needs to satiate the appetite of the Academy voters since that is its sole purpose. While it's not as terrible as I make it seem, it irritates me that this movie could have been so much more than a glorified puff piece on British royalty nostalgia and more of a serious film with an important message to say.

Black Swan

The movie demands more than Portman is able to give. As I said in my review of her, she is quite capable as the White Swan but suffers as the Black Swan. The movie itself is similar in that it tries to be more than it really is. There have been numerous retellings of the Swan Lake ballet in film and many try to come up with some new take on an old story. Black Swan fails at saying or showing anything different and therefore lacks the real emotional punch it's going for. The actual dancing is a treat to watch and Mila Kunis' character is perfect. And not to say this is a terrible movie or anything, I just feel like the Black Swan scenes could have been handled better and acted better and that ultimately leaves this film lacking.

The Fighter

This movie has such a compelling story and superb actors, there's really no doubt it deserves to be a Best Picture nominee. The tale of two brothers who are boxers, one washed up and the other trying to make it, offers up a great combination of drama and sports movie. The struggles between the family members and the struggle of Bale's character to overcome his addiction are riveting to watch and really cement this movie as a must watch. At times the characters can come off as being a bit over the top in their performances but I think this really adds to the realism of this outgoing and loud family we are being shown. What does annoy me is the usual boxing match trope you find in lots of boxing movies, whoever we are rooting for gets wailed on for a few rounds before finding some sort of energy to knock the other guy out. In a movie that is so good with its dramatic elements, the failure of the sports side to be truly innovative and buck cliches leaves a little to be desired. With that said it is still one of my favorites of the year.

Inception

Christopher Nolan's dream within a dream within a dream idea is dazzling if a little lacking in depth and emotion. The sights and sounds of the special effects are great fun to witness and really makes you feel immersed in the different worlds/dreams presented. There's definitely no dull parts visually and I hesitate to say there were any in the story either. A lot of critics complained that the story was confusing and complicated and while I don't exactly disagree (it wasn't hard to follow, though), its strength comes in making the viewer challenge what they see and think. It also comes across heavy-handed with lots of expository dialogue telling us what's going on and feels loaded down with its own weight of seriousness. But taking the movie at face value and realizing that it's just really a cool movie with a unique idea, one realizes that you don't need to be attached emotionally and can simply watch from afar....as if watching a dream.

The Kids Are All Right

Ugh, I don't see why this was a movie worthy of an Oscar nomination. I like that the expansion from 5 movies to 10 allows for movies that wouldn't normally be nominated to get a chance. But this shouldn't have been one of those movies. It's episodic and at times feels like a TV movie (or heck even a show). The lesbian angle can only carry it so far and the acting for the most part isn't as good as others would lead you to believe. The story, and especially the relationships, rang hollow and under served the characters badly. I did like some of the subtle humor throughout the movie as well as Mark Ruffalo's performance, even if it could have been better. But overall, this just isn't a movie I liked.

127 Hours

I think this just an OK movie. It's got a very interesting subject, but I don't think Danny Boyle (director) is able to put it all together in a way that fits the subject. The movie to me has a weird look to it, almost like it's overexposed. While I don't claim to know all that much about cinematography, the look of this film grates on me. It has a TV movie feel at times to me and while Franco does all he can to save it from becoming just that, there's not much for him to work with. I don't think the flashbacks are really compelling enough and Franco isn't able to carry the film on his own. For what should be a very inspiring and gut-wrenching tale, it lacks the tension, emotion and depth needed to be more than just an exercise in directing for Boyle.

The Social Network

The more I think about this film the more I love it. My initial reaction after watching this remarkable film was that it was good but forgettable. Except that after I dismissed it, the movie kept creeping back into my mind and I kept thinking about the characters, the music, the story, the dialogue. I love Jesse Eisenberg's condescending, anti-social portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg and the emotion (or lack thereof) and subtlety with which he acts is amazing, brilliant, and perfect. The dialogue is so rapid-fire and so very obviously of Aaron Sorkin's mind and is a perfect fit for a movie that digs into this generations cultural psyche. I love that you can see Zuckerberg's inability to connect with people essentially form the idea of Facebook as a way to connect with people on your own terms. The supporting characters are fantastic, the minimalist music sets the tone wonderfully, and the direction is so spot on I fail to see why this movie didn't win Best Picture.

Toy Story 3

I'm not sure if this was a stand alone movie, that it would get as much love and an Oscar nom like it has. It's a decent little end to the trilogy and got its obvious Best Animated Feature Oscar (over the more deserving How To Train Your Dragon). Like the other movies in the Toy Story arc, it likes to tug on the heartstrings, although I feel that's when the movie is at its worse. Pixar loves to add in the sappy moments but instead of letting things develop on their own, they often force you in to an emotion under the guise that it makes for a more touching film. That's a big pet peeve in movies for me. Let me form my own emotions and feelings towards characters and scenes and stop force feeding me what you think I should be feeling. I think TS3 is waaay better than 2, but not nearly as good as 1 and the prior movies probably make people react to this movie differently than if the others hadn't existed. Meaning, the nostalgia for the Toy Story franchise makes this movie better than it really is. I feel this nomination was more of a nod to the Toy Story franchise than to how good of a film this one really is.

True Grit

I love that the Coens are never the same from movie to movie. Their more faithful adaptation of the book has some wonderful acting, if at times a bit stilted, and beautiful cinematography. Although the landscape looks great on film, the action sequences are a bit lacking and the movie as a whole is kinda dull. There's no real sense of danger or tension or anything that might keep the viewer on the edge of their seat. And once we meet Hailee Steinfeld's father's killer, we are pretty underwhelmed and a little aggravated that we invested the time in going along with finding this weak man who was built up as someone much stronger and more intimidating. But that's probably more of a failure of the book than the movie so I give the Coens the benefit of the doubt. It's still an enjoyable film and the Coens are great at creating memorable characters as they have here.

Winter's Bone

About a 17-year-old girl trying to figure out where her father is so he can go to court so the family he's left won't get evicted in the Missouri Ozarks. It's a nice slice of life look at poor red necks essentially and there's only a few moments when the story doesn't work. As I said in my acting reviews for this movie, there are times when the script lets down Jennifer Lawrence's character but those are few and the acting in this movie is one of its better qualities. The tone and pacing of this movie are done well and there's never a time when I was wishing for the next scene to hurry up and arrive. But other than Lawrence's performance, the movie fails to really stick with you after you've finished watching it and after you've seen it once there's no real reason to come back to it. Nice to see the Academy reward an indie film that was released in the summer with a nod here.


I feel the Academy got it wrong this year. It took the Oscar bait and rewarded mediocrity instead of going with a movie that I feel will be looked at in years to come as a classic and generational movie in The Social Network. Overall, I'd say this year seems a little lacking in movies that should really be nominated for Best Picture. I hope that next year will be strong like 2009 was. And so that completes my first full year of reviews, which feels good. The writing has gotten a bit easier as I've gone along and hopefully it stops taking me hours to write these things!

Oscar Winner: The King's Speech
My Winner:  The Social Network
The Fighter
Inception
True Grit
Winter's Bone
The King's Speech
127 Hours
Black Swan
Toy Story 3
The Kids Are All Right