best picture showcase 2010 – day 2
Saturday was Day 2 of AMC’s Best Picture Showcase. Daniel, however, was unable to attend due to a scheduling conflict at work. I met my friend and his sister at the First Watch restaurant for breakfast in Chesterfield. I had myself a Far West omelette; pretty tasty, and if I may add, no upset stomach this week.
We were very early, with more than an hour to go before showtime. We got ourselves a larger theater this week, and to everyone’s delight, there was no need to switch theaters. It was a smaller crowd, probably the smallest we’ve ever seen; not sure if the selection of movies had anything to do with it.
Up – ***** – Of all 10 nominees, this is the only one I have already seen since Daniel got the Blu-Ray for Christmas. In fact, thanks to Sophia, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen it. Despite repeated viewings, I still love the film. The Carl/Ellie sequence still moves me, and as crazy as the situations and characters may be, the story works as Carl embarks on his adventure. I’d like to note, however, that there were a handful of lines and pieces of dialogue that I’d never heard in the video release (yet another reason to watch it again). The film was preceded by the Pixar short Partly Cloudy.
A Serious Man – *** – This black comedy had “weird” written on it from the start of the opening scene (typical of a movie written and directed by Ethan and Joel Coen). This is about Larry Gopnik, a professor whose family life begins to unravel before him. Fascinating story lines include a bribe from a student to give him a passing grade, his son’s marijuana habit, and his battle with the neighbor over the property lines; like I said before, “weird”. It probably didn’t help that we kept looking for Colin Firth and Julianne Moore to appear, only to discover after the movie’s ending that they are in the film with a similar title, A Single Man. I honestly felt gypped.
The Hurt Locker – **** – Kathryn Bigelow’s war film is an intense movie, taut with suspense and filled with action. Best Actor nominee Jeremy Renner is superb as William James, the reckless but battle-tested leader of an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) team. As most war films go, the horrors of war are evident here, but there’s nothing new.
An Education – ***1/2 – A girl’s coming-of-age story, based on an autobiographical memoir by Lynn Barber. Carey Mulligan is wonderful as Jenny, the 16-year-old who aspires to “read English” at Oxford, and Peter Sarsgaard is scary good (and I mean that he’s good in a creepy way) as the charming older man who sweeps Jenny off her feet. Loved the soundtrack to this film, especially the track to the opening titles.
I skipped out on the last film, District 9. An Education ended at 7:40 PM, and the last one wasn’t scheduled to start until 8:45 PM. I didn’t like the thought of getting home after 11:30, and Daniel owns the Blu-Ray, so I figured there was no need.
Who will win Best Picture? Based on the hype as of late, I’d say The Hurt Locker. Unless the damage is done thanks to one of their producers, the Academy may give Kathryn Bigelow the Best Director Oscar to make up for it, clearing the way for Avatar.
I’ve seen all but one of the 10 nominees (and I really don’t expect District 9 to win). I rated three of them 5 stars; Up may win the Best Animated Feature Oscar, while The Blind Side‘s Sandra Bullock will most likelly take home the Best Actress Oscar. Based on this, I nix them for Best Picture. I’d like Avatar to win; it’s an epic, filled with action, a decent story line, and great special effects.
