Have I told you all how much I love the Oscars?
Well.... I LOVE THEM!
In the middle of all the birthday excitement this week, I almost forgot it was nomination day! Thankfully I have some good friends who reminded me! {You know who else forgot? My BFF!!}
Let me give you some history:
Way back in 1998 I remember watching The Academy Awards ceremony and for the first time ever, I had actually seen several of the movies nominated. So had my BFF. I remember us saying to each other that the show was not so boring to watch when you actually knew something about what they were talking about.
An idea was born. Right then and there. We made a decision to see as many of nominated movies as we could each and every year. Well, then we got confident and we started guessing out of all the movies out there, which ones did we think had a chance to be nominated. It changed our moving watching habits. {Well, mine anyways!} I had children and sneaking off to see a movie was like gold. So, no longer would I watch a movie that did not have any hope of being nominated. {YES, that makes me a movie snob!!}
This is our 14th year. You would think we would not forget the nomination day, but I got distracted with The Boy's birthday {another interesting side note: Being home on maternity leave was the reason I started watching so many movies in the first place!} and the BFF, well she is busy getting ready to have her own first baby. So, yeah, the morning slipped passed us unnoticed.
There are 9 nominations for Best Picture this year. I have seen three of them.
In the middle of all the birthday excitement this week, I almost forgot it was nomination day! Thankfully I have some good friends who reminded me! {You know who else forgot? My BFF!!}
Let me give you some history:
Way back in 1998 I remember watching The Academy Awards ceremony and for the first time ever, I had actually seen several of the movies nominated. So had my BFF. I remember us saying to each other that the show was not so boring to watch when you actually knew something about what they were talking about.
An idea was born. Right then and there. We made a decision to see as many of nominated movies as we could each and every year. Well, then we got confident and we started guessing out of all the movies out there, which ones did we think had a chance to be nominated. It changed our moving watching habits. {Well, mine anyways!} I had children and sneaking off to see a movie was like gold. So, no longer would I watch a movie that did not have any hope of being nominated. {YES, that makes me a movie snob!!}
This is our 14th year. You would think we would not forget the nomination day, but I got distracted with The Boy's birthday {another interesting side note: Being home on maternity leave was the reason I started watching so many movies in the first place!} and the BFF, well she is busy getting ready to have her own first baby. So, yeah, the morning slipped passed us unnoticed.
There are 9 nominations for Best Picture this year. I have seen three of them.
- The Artist
- The Descendants
- Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
- The Help
- Hugo
- Midnight in Paris
- Moneyball
- The Tree of Life
- War Horse
I can't offer you any insights into movies I think got robbed or movies that do not deserve to be in the mix. I have not been a good movie watcher this year. I can tell you I am excited to see Melissa McCarthy from Bridesmaids on the list! I am also glad to see Michelle Williams back again this year with another nomination. And I always love a George Clooney movie! I am not happy that I have to watch a documentary on Sarah Palin, but I guess I will for the sake of Oscar.
I am also happy to report that many of the movies nominated are on DVD and can be watched from the comfort of your own home. I stopped by the movie store on the way home and picked up a few. Can you guess what I will be doing this weekend?
A WEEKLY REVIEW: By no means am I a movie critic. But I will try and give you my take on the nominations each week.
Let's start with: Midnight in Paris. Available on DVD. Nominated for: Best Picture, Art Direction, Best Director (Woody Allen), and Original Screenplay.
I just watched this movie on DVD last weekend. I really did not know what to expect. I am an "on-the-fence" Woody Allen fan; sometimes I love him and other times I am not sure. {I also have a lot of personal issues with his personal love life and that might interfere with my opinion of him.} But, I thought this movie screamed Oscar so I watched. And I am so glad I did. Fun story of a writer (Owen Wilson) who is visiting Paris with his fiance (Rachel McAdams). It becomes apparent to everyone but the main character that his fiance is not right for him. Instead of acknowledging this, he walked the streets of Paris at Midnight and finds a time warp to Paris of days gone by and runs into great artist of our past. What can I say? I loved the characters. I loved the setting. I loved the ending. Is this a Best Picture type movie. I do not think so. But, I would not count Woody out for a chance at the Oscar on Writing or even Directing.
Moneyball. Nominated for: Best Picture, Actor in a Leading Role (Brad Pitt), Actor in a Supporting Role (Jonah Hill), Film Editing, Sound Mixing, Adapted Screenplay.
The Boy had to tell me this movie was based upon real life people. {Yes, I can be a little slow!} I thought Brad Pitt plays Billy Beane, the General Manager of the Oakland A's. Jonah Hill played a statistical genius that advised Billy Beane on how to develop the best team they could based upon statistics and not money. This movie is for the baseball lovers! Okay, it might be for the math nerds who finally get to strut their stuff too!!
I am happy that Jonah Hill finally showed us that he can play something other than an overweight stoner and I enjoyed that. And I do not know Billy Beane, or am even a fan of him but I thought Brad Pitt was amazing in this movie. Without seeing the other Best Actor in a Leading Role movies, I would say he has a shot at the Oscar.
The Help. Nominated for: Best Picture, Actress in a Leading Role (Viola Davis), Actress in a Supporting Role (Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer).
Let me start off by saying, I loved this book and anytime a movie follows a book, I normally do not like the movie. So, with that I did not rush out and see this movie. I watched it over the Christmas break with Miss Medical Student while we were baking. And I loved it.
No, it does not follow the movie exactly. But it honored the spirit of the book and that was enough to satisfy my soul. I thought Viola Davis was amazing as Aibileen Clark. I also think the two actresses who are up for Supporting Actress did a great job as well. I do not know how this movie will fair in the race for Oscar but I can tell you this...There will be a Minnie's Chocolate Pie on our menu for our Oscar Night dinner!
Please, as always, feel free to leave me a note and let me know how you liked these three movies!
Happy Movie Watching!
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