OSCAR QUEST | The FINAL Ranking

I've seen all 18 Oscar nominated films in my plan of attack to prepare for Oscar night. Here's my final ranking:

1. THE DESCENDANTS > Sad. Wonderfully sad. Clooney expresses emotional struggles with just 43 muscles. Sid gets cold cocked.
2. THE ARTIST > Dance scene retakes = pure chemistry. I would watch this again and again, "With pleasure."
3. A BETTER LIFE > Didactic title aside, Demián Bichir's performance as an undocumented immigrant father who keeps moving forward is brilliant.
4. WARRIOR > Best movie nobody is seeing. Rocky with two heroes and way better more intense fight scenes and Nick Nolte as Nick Nolte.
5. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO > Tried not to like it. Original had Mikael’s generous awe; Hollywood's Lisbeth is deeper, more compelling.
6. HUGO 3D > Stunningly beautiful, although charmingly predictable, and still wonderfully magical.
7. EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE > In this modern-day, cloying, epic quest, Odysseus is an 11 yo NYer with Aspergers. I sobbed at that damn answering machine.
8. MIDNIGHT IN PARIS > Classic Woody Allen, although these days he looks much younger, has blond hair, and wears contacts.
9. TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY > Would knew such slow pacing could move so quickly. Methodical spy thriller.
10. MONEYBALL > Best sports business movie since Jerry Maguire. Flips the focus from "Show me the money," to player results - "He gets on base."
11. MY WEEK WITH MARILYN > Love the acting style contrasts highlighted between Marilyn and Sir Laurence Olivier, yet both prefer younger romances.
12. IRON LADY > A wonderfully told love story dressed up in pearls to look like a world leader bio pic. Touching, warm, and inspiring.
13. THE HELP > Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, a dark blue 1962 Cadillac convertible, and a bright red 1959 Corvette roadster. Better than I expected.
14. BEGINNERS > The costume party scene = most romantic pick-up ever. Arthur, the sub-title talking dog, as funny as Jon Hamm's uncredited Ted.
15. BRIDESMAIDS > Start with a base of raunchiness, add a dash of physical comedy, and warm until your heart says, "Ahhh."
16. WAR HORSE > If you get it on DVD, fast forward to the horse running through barbed wire. Watch the next 7 minutes of soldiers cutting him free. Eject DVD and return.
17. ALBERT NOBBS > Is a pathetic, unlikeable, genderless shell of human being which holds little entertainment value because we never connect with him... err, her.
18. TREE OF LIFE > Planet Earth with creepy voice overs and a dickweed dad as the apex predator.

What movies did you like best? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. Also, check out My Review Graphic of all 18 Movies and my favorite quotes from the best picture nominees.

OSCAR NIGHT 2011 | 127 Hours

A large part of any movie experience is determined by the expectations set before hand. I roughly knew the story of Aron Ralston who got his hand pinned between a fallen boulder and a canyon wall and had to make some pretty tough choices in order survive; but I hadn't read any reviews or recaps before going to see it, so my expectations were uninformed. I expected a large portion of the screen time to be in set up (getting to the point of being stuck) and a significant amount of scenes of what was happening in the real world when they finally learned he was missing. Nope. It was much more like Tom Hank's Cast Away where one man carries the entire film for most of the two hours. Only unlike Cast Away where Hanks could move about the island and explore new adventures, Jame's Franco's Ralston is stuck in a fixed position within a narrow canyon. The impressive part of 127 hours is that it works. The constantly changing camera angles and video diary make his journey of mental and physical determination through over 5 days of pain and starvation a captivating tale.

Two interesting bits of trivia regarding the video diary from IMDB:

Aron Ralston filmed a daily video diary while he was stuck in the canyon; the footage has only been shown to close friends and family and is kept in a bank vault for safety. Before shooting began both James Franco and director Danny Boyle were allowed to view the footage in order to accurately portray the events in the movie.

The camcorder used by James Franco in the film was the actual one Aron Ralston used when he was trapped in Blue John Canyon.

127 Hours is an intense, emotional real life story that is not for the squeamish and earns the number 11 spot on my list of 25 movies to see before Oscar night 2011 bumping down The Fighter. What did you think of the movie?

RANKING of OSCAR 2011 MUST-SEES (so far):

1. The King's Speech
2. True Grit
3. Winter's Bone
4. Black Swan
5. The Social Network
6. The Town
7. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
8. Inception
9. Toy Story 3
10. How to Train Your Dragon
11. 127 Hours
12. The Fighter
13. The Kids Are All Right
14. Animal Kingdom
15. Alice in Wonderland

OSCAR NIGHT 2011 | The King's Speech

I could handle Bellatrix as Queen Elizabeth, and Dumbledore as King George V seemed quite natural, but I just couldn't get past Wormtail as Churchill.

I'm usually not much of a fan for stuffy stories about royal families. With my blue-collar roots, I prefer the struggles of the common man more than watching the privileged class "struggle" with the difficulties of being elite. However, this tale is told in a very non-grand fashion and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth are portrayed as an ordinary couple thrown unwillingly into the spotlight when his brother King Edward VIII renounces the crown to be with his true love.

Queen Elizabeth sums it up nicely when she reminds her husband how she had rejected his marriage proposals twice before finally accepting the third time. She didn't want the fame of royalty and living in the public eye, but she figured he had such a "lovely stammer" that they would leave them alone. The plot reminds me of the quote from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night:

Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them.

This engaging story of being thrust into greatness is told well with exceptional visuals and superb acting. The chemistry between the three main characters is delightful as they share witty quips and keen perspectives. Their exchanges are charming and fun to watch as all three communicate so much emotion through their facial expressions and reactions.

The King's Speech is a classic Best Picture picture and earns the number one spot on my list of 25 movies to see before Oscar night 2011. Although, to be honest, I would rather watch True Grit, but that's just my bias for a good western showing through.

RANKING of OSCAR 2011 MUST-SEES (so far):

1. The King's Speech
2. True Grit
3. Winter's Bone
4. Black Swan
5. The Social Network
6. The Town
7. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
8. Inception
9. Toy Story 3
10. How to Train Your Dragon
11. The Fighter
12. The Kids Are All Right
13. Animal Kingdom
14. Alice in Wonderland