The Nominees are:
- "Black Swan" Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin, Producers
- "The Fighter" David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg, Producers
- "Inception" Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers
- "The Kids Are All Right" Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray, Producers
- "The King's Speech" Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin,Producers
- "127 Hours" Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson, Producers
- "The Social Network" Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
- "Toy Story 3" Darla K. Anderson, Producer
- "True Grit" Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
- "Winter's Bone" Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers
Before the nominations were made, I'd seen a measly three of the ten. That's part of the reason I took a short hiatus from the AFI list. I thought "Inception" would be there. It was a great movie with enough plot twists to keep you engaged and it was very enjoyable. I still rave about the movie to many of my friends. I was surprised "The Social Network" made the list. ANYONE saying something like "this is a great movie and will be relevant 20 or 30 years from now!" as they watch it? I mean if you were...then...sheesh. The story is good and the acting is good. It follows the book closely and tells a very interesting story, but didn't really add much. It shouldn't be nominated for best picture. "Toy Story 3" is great. Fine movie and Pixar has made nothing but great movies.
The movies I hadn't seen when the nomination list came out, but have since, are "The King's Speech", "127 Hours" and "The Fighter". First, "The King's Speech". Colin Firth got a nomination for best actor and it was well deserved. He does a great job and for my money plays a difficult part very well. He nailed the stammer and cadence of George VI (listen to a recording of the monarch's speech). Geoffrey Rush was very entertaining and the rest of the cast at least solid and in some cases marvelous. Rush has always been a favorite way back to Elizabeth in 1998. Whether or not the movie should have been nominated for as many Oscars as it was...is a topic for further discussion. Do yourself a favour and at least read the story of George V and his sons The Duke of York (George) and the Duke of Windsor (Edward). It will make the movie more enjoyable. Don't worry much about the R rating. It's for a couple. well a few, F Bombs dropped by Firth as part of the speech therapy. It's incomprehensible this film got an R rating.
Danny Boyle's direction of "127 Hours" is great and the movie is solid, but I think a 16mm black and white student-done version of this tale would still be solid. The story is so compelling it would be a challenge to mess it up, I think. Think of how you could make a poor movie of that story. There is a great style to the film and you can see the touch of the man who made Trainspotting with some quick cuts and unique camera angles.
Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg are both very believable in "The Fighter". I wasn't aware of the story so I didn't catch the many departures from life in the film. The fight scenes are OK at best but, to be fair, since I recently watched "Raging Bull" any fight scenes are going to pale in comparison. The film is gritty in its portrayal of the poor residents of Lowell MA and Melissa Leo is great. I would say that Amy Adams did a remarkable job as well. But the contrast in character from Charlie Wilson's War might have something to do with that.
I'll either watch another of the Oscar Nominees or back to the AFI list in the next couple days.
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