oscars

I live in a small town, so it's typical that I haven't been able to see most of the Oscar nominees when they're anounced. This last year, though, I've seen almost no new movies at all. (12 movies? Yikes. And I didn't even finish one of them.) The one theater in the county has gotten too expensive, and it's not a nice enough place to justify the price. So I have to travel to see a movie in the theater. Awards Season movies have to wait until DVD. (Well, maybe we'll spring for Django.)

That said, this year's nominees look like an unusually good bunch of movies. Typically a quarter to a third of Oscar nominees are movies that I wouldn't want to watch if I was paid to. This year, there are only three that I outright don't want to see (The Impossible strikes me as morally uncomfortable, The Invisible War would be too upsetting, and Mirror Mirror because who gives a shit about Mirror Mirror), but none that I wouldn't be willing to see.

Meanwhile, there are a lot of pleasant surprises among the major nominees. I get the feeling that if I'd seen any of these movies, I might even want to watch the broadcast. I suspect Lincoln (with a little help from Les Misérables) acted as a lightning rod for all the stereotypical Academy Voters, keeping their votes away from the usual crap that gets in.


Now some lists, for my own reference.

nominees that I've seen:
-The Avengers - effects
-Brave - animated film
-Moonrise Kingdom - writing
-Prometheus - effects
-Skyfall - cinematography, score, sound, song

nominees that I need to see:
-Amour - picture, directing, writing, actress, foreign film
-Argo - picture, writing, supporting actor, editing, score, sound
-Beasts of the Southern Wild - picture, directing, writing, actress
-Django Unchained - picture, writing, supporting actor, cinematography, sound
-Frankenweenie - animated film
-The Hobbit - production design, effects, makeup
-Les Misérables - picture, actor, supporting actress, production design, costumes, makeup, sound, song
-The Life of Pi - picture, directing, writing, cinematography, editing, score, production design, effects, sound, song
-Lincoln - picture, directing, writing, actor, supporting actor, supporting actress, cinematography, editing, score, costumes, production design, sound
-The Master - actor, supporting actor, supporting actress
-Paranorman - animated film
-Silver Linings Playbook - picture, directing, writing, actor, actress, supporting actor, supporting actress, editing
-Wreck-It Ralph - animated film
-Zero Dark Thirty - picture, writing, actress, editing, sound

nominees I might see:
-5 Broken Cameras - documentary
-Anna Karenina - cinematography, score, production design, costumes
-Chasing Ice - song
-Flight - writing, actor
-The Gatekeepers - documentary
-Hitchcock - makeup
-Kon-Tiki - foreign film
-The Pirates! Band of Misfits - animated film
-A Royal Affair - foreign film
-Searching for Sugar Man - documentary
-The Sessions - supporting actress
-Snow White and the Huntsman - effects, costumes
-How to Survive a Plague - documentary
-Ted - song

nominees I don't want to see:
-The Impossible - actress
-The Invisible War - documentary
-Mirror Mirror - costumes

the internet doesn't even know what these are:
No - foreign film
War Witch - foreign film