Oscar picks

last weekend i sat down with marlana, fred & liz to watch all the Oscar nominees. we had an agreement that if we got 20 minutes into a movie, and no one was enjoying it, we would turn it off. we took advantage of that agreement with two of them movies: District 9 and The Hurt Locker. fortunately, those were the two i'd gotten from NetFlix, so i was able to bring them home with me. i watched them in their entirety this afternoon. so i've seen all 10 nominees. my thoughts, in order of preference:

Avatar - my choice for Best Picture. absolutely amazing. and, it just got moved to the $5 kerasotes in merrillville, so i'm hoping to see it on the big screen. it has to be even better that way.

The Hurt Locker - i know, we turned this one off halfway through. but the last 45 minutes make this movie. i can not say i enjoyed this movie - but the timeliness and rawness of it are impossible to ignore. if it wins, i will not be surprised or disappointed.

Inglourious Basterds - this movie is fabulously funny. quentin tartentino did a marvelous job here. it's always good when the audience is cheering for the movie to defy historical facts & re-write the story.

The Blind Side - sandra bullock's performance was stellar. i know the movie won't win best picture, but i do hope she'll be properly acknowledged for her performance. best line in the movie? "who'd have thought we'd have a black son before we knew a democrat?"

Precious - again, it would be hard to say i enjoyed this movie. but it's very well made, and the honesty in it gives it power. perhaps it should be higher on my list. it's probably more likely to win than Inglourious or Blind Side.

District 9 - we turned this one off about as soon as we could after the 20 minute mark. it's bloody and science-fictiony ... but i really enjoyed it. the aliens are well made, and the storyline is intriguing. it interests me that they set it in South Africa, as many of the human attitudes struck me as american arrogance - but maybe i'm too hard on my own country. humans as a whole may simply be that arrogant.

Up In The Air - again, a timely movie. and good, though every one of us was mad when we guessed one of the twists at the end.

Up - this was really cute, but i thought it dragged in the middle. i'm hoping this doesn't mean i'm outgrowing Pixar movies.

An Education - not a bad movie, but nothing spectacular either. i wasn't pleased with the ending. they needed to cut it off earlier. it's almost like they gave too much follow through, not enough was left for the viewer to guess at.

A Serious Man - ugh, seriously? this one i did not understand. and i've spent a good chunk of time daydreaming at work trying to understand it. and i just can't. if it wins ... my brain may explode.