The Academy Awards are scheduled to unravel on the night of 7th March 2010 (US Time). In the last 65 years(1944-2008), only 5 movies were nominated for the 'Best Picture' category. But, on February 2nd 2010 the tradition was broken and 10 movies were nominated in order to recognize more brilliant films that otherwise are squeezed out of the race. The ten movies have a cumulative box office collection of $4.3 Billion out of which 'Avatar' amassed a massive $2.5 Billion making it the biggest box-office movie ever. Though Box office collections show that 'Avatar' is a clear winner it may not be that simple in reality. 'Avatar' is recognized heavily for its digital technology than the picture itself.
The table below shows the Genre, Director, Rating and Earnings
The table below shows the IMDB user poll results for the Oscar best picture nominees
The above IMDB voting system is highly erroneous as many haven't watched all the ten movies (I am sure that the mean would lie between 3 to 5 movies with a 95% confidence interval). After my term exams in Feb, I had ample time and I watched all the ten movies. Hence, I write this blog to share my two cents.
'The Blind Side' and 'An Education'
Both these pictures are based on autobiographical memoirs. 'The Blind Side' is about the life of an American Football Star, Michael Oher, who finds his new Christian school very demanding. When Leigh Anne returns to her home from thanksgiving school function she finds Michael (called 'Big Mike') walking to Gym, shivering in the freezing cold. She pities his situation and offers him a place for the night. The rest of the story is how the relation between Michael Oher and Leigh Anne's family change their lives for the better. 'An Education' is about a schoolgirl 'Jenny' whose monotonous life changes into an enthralling experience when she meets a charming older man, David. Only in the end she realizes that David is married and she is one of the silly school girls who are taken advantage by rich older men. 'The Blind Side' has the best collections for a football movie while 'An Education' has a strong audience backing. The major positive for 'The Blind Side' is the action by Sandra Bullock (My choice for the Best Actress Oscar). Though these movies are classical they fall short for the Oscar as they are just simple feel good movies. My two cents: NO
'Up in the Air' and 'A Serious Man'
Financial Meltdown leads to Recession which in-turn leads to Unemployment that leads to pink slips and nervous breakdowns but for Ryan. Ryan and his company welcome such downturns as their job is to fire people for their clients i.e. the employees of their clients. Ryan has this unique concept called the 'empty back pack' . People should devour their relations and materialistic needs and adapt for change. 'A Serious Man' is a Jewish biblical story retold in the modern era. Larry Gopnik is in a fix. His wife wants him to file a divorce, his student's dad wants to sue him for accepting a bribe, his department committee is receiving defamatory letters about his tenure and so on. 'A Serious Man' falls short in the comical part. But, both the movies become intolerable to sit through. My two cents : NO
'District 9', 'Precious : Based on the novel Push' and 'Up'
District 9 runs on similar lines to Avatar, the difference being the Aliens visit our planet in this case. The rest of the story is about the inhumane humanity with which the humans treat the aliens. 'District 9' falls short in the fact that unlike Avatar it isn't convincing. Precious is about a stout black lady who is raped by her own dad. The story is well told and makes us pity Precious. The sheer racism of this movie might not get it an Oscar. 'Up' on other hand has nothing special when compared to Wall-E and other films. And Animated movies never won an Oscar. My Two cents : NO
'Inglourious Basterds'
Inglourious Basterds is a fictitious Jewish revenge against the dictatorship of Hitler. The entire family of a teenager Shosanna, who is allowed to escape, is killed by SS Colonel Landa. Lt. Aldo recruits eight Jewish-American soldiers (known as 'Inglourious Basterds') whose job is to kill the Nazis and create a fear in the hearts of the German. The rest of the movie is about how the Inglourious Basterds and Shosanna work independently to kill the Nazi's and end up successfully assassinating Hitler. Though, the movie is well taken it lacks moral depth and shows a magical vengeance against the Nazis. My Two cents: NO
This leaves us with -
'Avatar' and 'Hurt Locker'
Hmm… that leaves with just two movies as contenders for the Oscar. But, choosing between these movies is extremely difficult. While Avatar has the highest collection, Hurt Locker has swept the BAFTA awards. Avatar is a spectacular display of digital effects that left the audience in awe. Humans are after Pandora's natural resources for an element called Unobtanium and in the process they destroy the native Pandora tribe, Navi. Jake Sully is the only resort left for saving the Navi. William James on the other hand is busy defusing bombs in in Hurt Locker. James has replaced Sergeant Thomson who was killed by a remote detonated IED in Iraq. The movie is intent and thrilling especially in the scenes where James defuses bombs. 'Hurt Locker' is the best movie by far in capturing the situation in Iraq. It builds suspense and grips our attention till the end.
| Verdict (probability of winning the best picture) | Avatar : 40% | Hurt Locker : 60% |
*Note: It is difficult to criticize these movies convincingly as they have all been critically acclaimed. In the end Avatar and Hurt Locker become the choice because they shine in all the departments.
