I'll never watched all the films nominated for Oscars...
Not in a million years, and especially since I appear to have developed some kind of personal grudge against Avatar and am apparently refusing point-blank to see it. Don't ask me why.
But I do know who I want to win Best Actor and Best Actress, and not just because those are the only two performances I've actually seen.
A Single Man
I really hope Colin Firth wins the Oscar for this, because he deserves it. Oh my heart, he deserves it, if only for the scene in which he gets the phone call telling him his partner, Jim, is dead. It's so still and quiet, there's no music, no movement, and the camera just focuses on Colin's face. The silence is almost unbearable, and you just sit and watch this man silently shatter. It's amazing acting.
This film is wonderful, and so bizarrely gut-wrenching and uplifting at the same time. I loved the cinematography, how everything was filmed in this pallid, washed-out tone, and then when George's attention is focused on something, when his interest is piqued, these beautiful warm tones come in, almost too bright and colourful to watch. It's beautiful. This whole film is beautiful.
The Blind Side
I really enjoyed this, I have to say, but I'm a little confused as to the reception it's been getting. I know Sandy was nominated for an Oscar for her performance, and I think it's deserved - but it's been getting a lot of flack for being a racist movie, or deceptively racist. You know, well-meaning patronising white family adopts poor black boy etc etc. And I'm...I mean, it's based on a true story! Ask the real Michael Oher how racist the Tuohy family were being when they adopted him.
I don't get it. What would people prefer, that white people never ever helped anyone who was black, because 'they're only doing it out of white guilt', or because 'they want to patronise the poor blacks', or because 'the black people can't help themselves'? That's not true. You help people because you can, because you should, no matter what colour they are. Why does race have to come into it at all?
I thought this was a very touching movie. I thought from the trailers it would be really sappy, but it wasn't at all. My only criticism, and maybe racism does come into it, it's really more about the Tuohy family adopting Michael, than Michael being adopted by the Tuohys. I can't say I came away from this film knowing a lot about Michael, but I felt I knew Sandra Bullock's character well.
But I do know who I want to win Best Actor and Best Actress, and not just because those are the only two performances I've actually seen.
A Single Man
I really hope Colin Firth wins the Oscar for this, because he deserves it. Oh my heart, he deserves it, if only for the scene in which he gets the phone call telling him his partner, Jim, is dead. It's so still and quiet, there's no music, no movement, and the camera just focuses on Colin's face. The silence is almost unbearable, and you just sit and watch this man silently shatter. It's amazing acting.
This film is wonderful, and so bizarrely gut-wrenching and uplifting at the same time. I loved the cinematography, how everything was filmed in this pallid, washed-out tone, and then when George's attention is focused on something, when his interest is piqued, these beautiful warm tones come in, almost too bright and colourful to watch. It's beautiful. This whole film is beautiful.
The Blind Side
I really enjoyed this, I have to say, but I'm a little confused as to the reception it's been getting. I know Sandy was nominated for an Oscar for her performance, and I think it's deserved - but it's been getting a lot of flack for being a racist movie, or deceptively racist. You know, well-meaning patronising white family adopts poor black boy etc etc. And I'm...I mean, it's based on a true story! Ask the real Michael Oher how racist the Tuohy family were being when they adopted him.
I don't get it. What would people prefer, that white people never ever helped anyone who was black, because 'they're only doing it out of white guilt', or because 'they want to patronise the poor blacks', or because 'the black people can't help themselves'? That's not true. You help people because you can, because you should, no matter what colour they are. Why does race have to come into it at all?
I thought this was a very touching movie. I thought from the trailers it would be really sappy, but it wasn't at all. My only criticism, and maybe racism does come into it, it's really more about the Tuohy family adopting Michael, than Michael being adopted by the Tuohys. I can't say I came away from this film knowing a lot about Michael, but I felt I knew Sandra Bullock's character well.