Best Picture Nominees - Best to Worst (WIP)

My pick for Best Picture.

Christopher Nolan's complex masterpiece ain't only my favorite of the last year, but also my favorite movie of all time. I've watched it six times, and I constantly see something new in it. The originality, the acting, the score and the multi layered action. What's not to love here?

BEST PICTURE WINNER

Yes, it is shouting out for Oscars and is predictable, but so what? Many of the greatest movies ever are somewhat predictable. It's so elegantly crafted. Everything with is fantastic. The direction, the cinematography, the art design, the score and not to mention the acting. I think Colin Firth should have won last year for "A Single Man", but he deserves it this year as well. And he better damn well win it. The rest of the cast is also terrific. Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce and Michael Gambon all delivers top-notch performances.

Natalie Portman with a mezmerizing performance. This is a nightmare of a movie. A movie that will leave you shaking. In many ways it's a freaking masterpiece, and it will propably grow on me when I watch it again.
And the sex scene with Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis is a masterpiece in itself.

While some people were in doubts about a movie about "Facebook", I never doubted. David Fincher is one of my favourite directors, and he shows that he is capable of handling drama about friendship and betrayal just as much as chilling thrillers. This is the craft of a master, and while it benefits stronly from Aaron Sorkin's outstanding script, it is still Fincher's direction that drives this movie. Not to mention the excellent performances from Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield. Garfield got snubbed for an Oscar nomination!

While being a typical story, it is exceptionally well-made and entertaining while being authentic. It rises above all the other movies with the same theme. Strong performances from everyone in the cast, specially Christian Bale who gives one of his finest performances of his career. Perhaps my favourite boxing movie.

James Franco is excellent and his performace carries this movie. It is well executed and the flashbacks works amazingly. The amputation is gut-wrenching and intense, with a musical score that really adds to it making that scene perfect. Unfortently, I think that some of the 'fancy' editing destroys a tiny bit of the whole impression.

It's not like the other Coen-films, and that's a good thing. The usual Coen-style would not have suited this film, in my opinion. It stands on it's own as a excellent western with several strong performances. However, the last five minutes ruins some of the whole impression of the film. Those five minutes were not necessary.

It's a worthy final. No doubt about that. But, like the first one. I'm not getting the emotional connection, like I do with much of the other Pixar movies.

What the hell? This is it? When I were deciding for what movie I was gonna watch tonight, it was either this one or a take a rewatch with "Unbreakable". I wish I hade chosen the latter. This is, by all means, a wonderfully acted movie. The acting from everyone is top-notch, but that's all it offers. It could have a nice setting with the lesbian parents, but then they shouldn't have involved Mark Ruffalo's character. And since he is involved it just feels like a traditional movie. Nothing special at all. And when they then decide to not wrap up his character, everything feels so pointless. And that's what they mainly fail with. Concluding things. Now, I'm open to leaving things open, but here there are so many loose ends, so many plotpoints that never got more explored. Damn, I'm dissapointed.

My pick for Best Picture.

The story is not extraordinary. But you don't always need an extraordinary story to make an extraordinary movie. But then, in order to succeed, you have to hit all the right emotions. And, "An Education" does that. This movie completely melted me. It made me forget everything, but what I was witnessing on the screen, and what was happening to the characters. Such an ensamble of wonderfull characters, played to perfection. With Carey Mulligan. Wow. I did fell completely in love with her. So naive, yet so wonderfully cute and charming. It's such a delight to be able to watch something as beautiful as this, with so much heart and emotion. It made constantly smile, and it even made me shed a tear. It even got me to take another look at my own life. Beautiful movie, and it went straight into being one of my favourites. It's just so right in every aspect, and is one of my finest movie experiences ever. Not to mention that it is, like the most "real" love story, ever.

And this is indeed Quentin Tarantno's masterpiece. This fantasy war drama is carefully crafted into a modern epic, provided by Tarantino's eye for dialogue, the great musical score and top-notch performances from the cast. With Christoph Waltz delivering one of the greatest performances of all time. Tarantino has delivered some amazing movies in the past, but I doubt he will be able to top this epic salute to movies and moviemaking.

Jason Reitman's Up in the Air is filled with clever humor and emotion. Making it a really pleasent affair. It's three charismatic leadroles contributes in dragging the movie way above other movies of the same genre.

Yet again the Coen brothers manage to deliver a movie that keeps the balance between comedy and drama perfectly. In A Serious Man, the Coen brothers plays with the stereotypcal jew, but without going to far. It results in dark and charming tale. And with the character Sy Ableman, they have perhaps created one of my favourite characters of all time. At least, one of their best.

District 9 is going to be a Sci-fi classic. It is a truly original piece of work, that is able to combine it's documentary style into the Hollywood formula in a perfect manner. It criticises the society, it got loads of dark humour, it's full of amazing visuals and action sequences. And it got one of the coolest transformation processes ever.

Charming and funny from Pixar. And like most of their other works it's high on emotion connection. The opening is enough to make anyone cry. The animation is as always amazing.

BEST PICTURE WINNER

While there isn't much of a straight plot or story into it, and much of it is just sequences. It works brilliantly well as a character study. A look into a man, whose only life is war. It's an intense movie that really shows how war is indeed a drug.

Sandra Bullock is good, but nowhere close to being worthy of an Oscar. And while this is indeed an uplifting and warm movie, it is also not worthy of a Best Picture nomination. It's warm and sweet, but a bit to predictable and maybe to sweet.

Yes, the visuals are outstanding and it is a feast for the eyes. (Eventhough, the aliens looks silly.) But it's filled with crappy dialogue, crappy acting, an predictable story that reminds how a mixture between "Pocahontas" and "Dances With Wolves". You got your typical war-stereotypes and it's way, way to long. But, the visuals are awesome. Can't deny on that.

This is a film that I can understand would relate to a lot of people in one way or another, and I can definitely understand the critical acclaim and all the praise, and such. The acting is extremely good, and it is dealing with dark, and important subjects. Still, it never gets to me.

Because it is all bit too sad and emotional for me, and I never feel the same sadness. It's just a bunch of sad scenes, some cliches and some dream scenes that adds absolutely nothing. For me, this was just a film with excellent acting. Nothing more.

David Fincher steps away from his thrilling thrillers and ventures into the world of adventure and romance. And does so with great succsess. It's an epic story of a different humanbeing and a fine love story. It provides some really great visuals and Finchers direction is flawless.

Perfectly acted and interessting. As well as being entertaining. It's well-made, and the only thing I hold against it is that I would like to get more into Harvey Milk himself, and thoose around him. I don't think that territory was explored enough.

Excellent performances, and much emotion is what lifts this movie up a bit. But in the end it's a bit too much of a Oscarbait, and it's not good enough to rise up to the more finer ratings then. It's good, but not good enough

Wonderfully acted, and exciting as well as interessting. With some pacing problems, which might have been hard to avoid. Seeing as it is a movie about two people talking, really.

BEST PICTURE WINNER

What an excellent first hour! A realistic and gripping tale of the life in the slum, and the "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" thingy works perfectly in setting up the movie. But it's mostly ruined by a cliched, and suger-sweet love story in the last half. Followed by an riddiculus Bollywood dance-sequence it's hard not to puke.

A modern epic. Filmmaking at it's absolutely finest. Daniel Day-Lewis is huge, and this is a beautifully captured movie with a relaxing pace.

BEST PICTURE WINNER

Powerfull performances from it's three leads, and it is pretty much flawless. But, then the last scene arrives and drags the movie a bit down..

It is funny and charming, but it is pretty much Ellen Page's delightfull performance that raises this above other movies of same genre.

It is well-made, well-acted, well-written and everything that should make for an excellent movie. But, I found to be rather boring from time to time.

I hate movies like this. Tearjerkers that fails. It tries so hard to make me care and cry that it makes me puke. It doesn't help that it then feels so empty and hollow, and ultimately boring. While the performances are quite good, performances alone doesn't necessarily make a movie.

Powerful and thought-provoking. It's a beautiful piece of film-magic, and does in a humanistic way show the perils of the war. One of Clint Eastwood's best films.

BEST PICTURE WINNER

Featuring excellent performances from an outstanding cast, including DiCaprio, Damon, Nicholson and Wahlberg. It's a rock solid gangster-flick with gritty violence, suspense, twists and entertainment.

A cute and moving satire, with strong performances and a delightful script. Not as a funny as I might have expected, but enjoyable nevertheless.

Way too long and messy. It's insanely boring.