For the first time in...I don't know...ever, I felt REALLY prepared to watch the Oscar's this year. I saw 7 of the 10 best picture award winners, was able to fill our a pretty confident ballot, and have been waiting to give my reviews of movies as I see them.
The weekend before the Oscar's, some friends and I decided that we want to try and go see movies. After a "double feature" on Sunday, I was able to knock out The Fighter and The Black Swan.
The Fighter: Christian Bale....amazing. The second I saw him on screen I thought...."what the heck is this guy on". Christian was phenomenal in playing the drug addicted, fame seeking older brother of Micky Ward (Marky Mark). He was believable, you shivered with him as he went through withdraw in jail, you hated him at at times for being so pompous, and your heart broke as you saw the reaction on his face when he realized that the documentary was really about. I thought it was a great movie. I was confident and Christian would win for best Support Actor....It was well deserved!
The Black Swan: Holy CRAP! That was a mind twister. That mother...OMG...I would have not been surprised if she was the person attacked at the end. Natalie Portman was fantastic as always, Mila Kunas was great....I "almost" forgot her as the dim-witted Jackie from "That 70's Show". Natalie's portrayal of a ballet dancer who just got the role of a lifetime in Swan Lake. She is learning how to play the "black swan" the darker, more sinister twin sister of the white swan. The role gets to her. Seeing the world through Natalie's eyes, she starts to see people as her enemies, as her roadblocks and as watches her fame slip away.
I guess the "first" Oscar movie I saw was "Inception". I think it was unfortunate for inception to come out when it did (last summer). It was sooo long ago, I remember it being really well done. I remember thinking "what the heck" when I walked out of there, I remember all the hype, talking about it at work, and recommending it to friends. I remember saying I wanted to see it again so I could "figure it out"...but to be honest...I have forgotten a lot of the movie. I know its about dreams, but I think it lost a lot of it's hype in the 8 months it's been out.
The Kids are Alright: I rented this on Monday. I didn't have a whole lot of knowledge about what this movie was. I knew it was about a lesbian couple and their kids, and their kids finding their sperm donor dad. I did not know that I would see a lot of people naked. I thought Juliana Moore had a stronger role than Anette Bening, I just thought she really made a great impression. I thought it was a good movie...I don't know if I thought it was Oscar worthy, but good...(just don't watch it with your parents:))
The Kings Speech: Now, I am a bit jaded. I HEART HEART HEART Colin Firth. I love him, I think he is the cutest. I feel like he is the most wonderful man. He is a little bit like my prince charming. So, Colin had my vote for the moment he began stuttering. At the end of the movie, it was clear that he would have my vote even if he was another silly Brittish actor. The Kings Speech was wonderful. It was heartfelt. It was historic, timeless. I know it's getting a lot of slack. Many people think it shouldn't have gotten the Oscar. (Now, I am with the folks that I don't think it should have gotten best original screen play...in my opinion, a biography, or something based on historical events, isn't ORIGINAL....INCEPTION- now THAT's original.) I thought Helena Carter was amazing. It was so weird to see someone who generally plays a "whacadoo" play royalty. Amazing, Gripping movie...LOVE IT.
Toy Story 3- Andy's grown up. He no longer needs his toys, toys accidentely get donated. Woody Saves the Day! It's your typical Disney/Pixar Movie. It was cute, it was clever. It was well done. I cried at the end...but it had some big time competitors. I'm glad it was there.
The Social Network (AKA- the facebook movie). Mark Z is a jerk face. I spent the majority of the movie thinking this. I spend 60% of the movie thinking I was going to disable my facebook account. I spend several moments of the movie thinking, this guy stole this idea, passed it off as his own and has allienated anyone and everyone who cared for him. I kind of despised Mark Z. Until the last 3 seconds of the movie. The last 3 seconds of the movie they showed a little "after line"....afterlines are my favorite parts of movies....when they tell you what happens after the movie ends....generally only happens in bio-pics or some sort of historical movie....(I also think afterlines are my term...don't google it, you wont find it). The line said "Mark Zuckerburg is the youngest billionaire" and I thought, what a lonely life. How lonely is it to know you have lost and ruined all of your friendships, you created something to get into a club and a life of inclusivity, and what you really did was alienate yourself even further. To never know if someone likes you as a person, and not because you "invented" facebook. For a quick second, I felt sorry for him....and then I remember how he did it all to himself. I still have my facebook account....for now.
So all in all, I did a good job seeing these movies this year. I will try to make it all 10 next year!