The big news for the 2010 Oscars is the decision to increase the number of nominees for best picture from five films, which has been the standard for the past several decades, to ten films. The rationale behind the increase is to include box office favorites along with the typical art house or critically acclaimed films. The list of the ten best picture nominees announced on ABC this morning are:
1. Avatar – James Cameron’s high tech and high budget fantasy adventure about an ex marine catapulted into a hostile alien planet.
2. Up in the Air – Jason Reitman’s critically acclaimed adaptation of Walter Kern’s comic novel. The movie stars George Clooney as Ryan Bingham, a businessman on the verge of reaching 10 million frequent flyer miles when his company decides to cut back on travel.
3. The Hurt Locker – Considered by many to be the best dramatization of the Iraq war. This is a well acted and compelling military drama.
4. Precious – Based on the novel “Push” by Sapphire. This sad, gritty drama about abuse and inner city life is strangely uplifting. “Precious” contains exceptional performances by Mo’Nique and newcomer, Gabourey Sidibe.
5. District 9 – Neill Blomkamp directs this technically brilliant tale of extraterrestrial refugees who are stuck in contemporary South Africa.
6. Up – This is another animated masterpiece from Pixar studios. It is a smart, well-crafted story about a 78 year-old balloon salesman.
7. Inglorious Bastards – Quentin Tarantino’s comic blood bath which takes place in Nazi German occupied France.
8. An Education – This is a charming coming of age tale staring delightful newcomer, Carey Mulligan as a young woman intent on studying at Oxford.
9. A Serious Man – The Coen Brother’s imaginative dark comedy that investigates issues of faith, immortality, and delinquent behavior.
10. The Blind Side – The “Blind Side” is the box office hit and feel good movie staring Sandra Bullock as a woman who takes a young, black football star into her family.
Most of the nominations come as little surprise. Cameron’s “Avatar” and Reitman’s “Up in the Air” are the strong favorites. These are two very different films nominated for very different reasons, “Avatar “was nominated due to the movie’s incredible special effects, while “Up in The Air” can attribute its success to a clever script and fine acting performances by the three leads. My prediction is that “Avatar” will win the Oscar. The surprise nominee is the inclusion of “The Blind Side”, while the movie is well acted and has been very successful at the box office, it is not the type of movie that is typically acknowledged by the Academy.
In my opinion the Academy has included all of the films that should be on the list. Some may be disappointed that the box office smash “The Hangover” was left off the list, but I think it would have been more surprising to see it included. The well acted , smart comedy, “Julie and Julia” could have been included and Trekkies may be disappointed that the new Star Trek movie was slighted. All in all the move from five to ten nominees has allowed the Academy to acknowledge some of the popular movies that otherwise may have gone unnoticed. Not only may their decision increase the number of viewers of the Oscar Ceremony on Sunday, March 7th, but it will undoubtedly increase the number of viewers of the ten nominated films.
Sources:
ABC News
www.rottentomatoes.com
