Oscar 2009 - my picks (not predictions).
Lets get the disclaimer out of the way - front and center. Not as many nominated movies were seen this year - a record low perhaps. This doesn’t keep me from positing my best/worst though. .
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
1. Carey Mulligan, An Education
2. Rachel Weisz, The Brothers Bloom
3. Abbie Cornish, Bright Star
4. Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
5. Julia Roberts, Duplicity
Geez, and this looks exactly like coffeefortwo’s list. You will find this to be a common thread considered the amount we debate film in this house. My big issue this year was that it was again, difficult, to round out the women - and I felt somewhat forced by the Oscar noms to count Streep's performance as lead (I think it could go either way, but they wanted her out of the way of Monique is my bet).
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
1. Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man
2. George Clooney, Up in the Air
3. Mark Ruffalo, The Brothers Bloom
4. Robin Williams, World’s Greatest Dad
5. Ben Whishaw, Bright Star
Yes, Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) has been nominated all over the place. But there is something about his performance, and the ensuing promotional circuit, that starts to present the actor/person as not that different from the actor/role. However, this basically comes down to my personal preferences in performances and while World’s Greatest Dad may not be to everyone’s liking (you could link it as a prime example of a Black Comedy), Williams is fantastic.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
1. Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
2. Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
3. Marcia Gay Harden, Whip It
4. Diane Kruger, Inglourious Basterds
5. Rinko Kikuchi, The Brothers Bloom
I just want to give a shout-out to Charlize Theron - in The Road. Perhaps I’m just acutely attuned to that particular um, contemplative dilemma, or maybe I’m still feeling bad that she lost the 2006 race (North Country nomination) to Reese Witherspoon. Or maybe it is still push-back against some audience members who, when viewing the trailer for North Country in a theater, stated rather loudly “she’s such a pretty girl, I don’t know why she takes all these roles that make her ugly.”
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
1. Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
2. Paul Schneider, Bright Star
3. Alfred Molina, An Education
4. Stanley Tucci, Julie & Julia
5. Woody Harrelson, Zombieland
As usual with the Best Supporting roles with the actors, the film is usually worth viewing if only for these performances.
TOP TEN MOVIES OF 2009
1. Up in the Air
2. A Serious Man
3. The Brothers Bloom
4. UP
5. The Hurt Locker
6. An Education
7. Bright Star
8. District 9
9. Zombieland
10. Coraline
With a shout out to Star Trek - because it was by far the most "entertaining" roller-coaster ride of the year, the best (and yes, I know these are fighting words) Trek movie to-date, and it just barely missed my list.
But here's the most fun (least agonizing) list of the year:
FIVE WORST MOVIES OF 2009
1. Terminator: Rise of the Machines
2. Precious yes, something or other Push
3. Moon
4. Nine
5. The International
Just to be clear, these are not really the worst movies of the year, these are MY least favorite of the year based on how I felt during (and after) the viewing. Terminator - well, it was just a piece of trash. And I was coming off withdrawal from TTSCC. Precious - well, this the the Waking Ned Devine of the year in my books. Overrated, overdone, overly constructed - downright painful at times (and I don't mean subject matter). It has been a very, very long time since I found myself looking away from the screen to get a break from the visual choices (again, not plot choices). Moon/i> - man Sam, you let me down. Nine - flat, flat everything - a mistake all around. And finally, The International - just friggin' boring. How does one even make Clive boring?
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
1. Carey Mulligan, An Education
2. Rachel Weisz, The Brothers Bloom
3. Abbie Cornish, Bright Star
4. Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
5. Julia Roberts, Duplicity
Geez, and this looks exactly like coffeefortwo’s list. You will find this to be a common thread considered the amount we debate film in this house. My big issue this year was that it was again, difficult, to round out the women - and I felt somewhat forced by the Oscar noms to count Streep's performance as lead (I think it could go either way, but they wanted her out of the way of Monique is my bet).
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
1. Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man
2. George Clooney, Up in the Air
3. Mark Ruffalo, The Brothers Bloom
4. Robin Williams, World’s Greatest Dad
5. Ben Whishaw, Bright Star
Yes, Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) has been nominated all over the place. But there is something about his performance, and the ensuing promotional circuit, that starts to present the actor/person as not that different from the actor/role. However, this basically comes down to my personal preferences in performances and while World’s Greatest Dad may not be to everyone’s liking (you could link it as a prime example of a Black Comedy), Williams is fantastic.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
1. Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
2. Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
3. Marcia Gay Harden, Whip It
4. Diane Kruger, Inglourious Basterds
5. Rinko Kikuchi, The Brothers Bloom
I just want to give a shout-out to Charlize Theron - in The Road. Perhaps I’m just acutely attuned to that particular um, contemplative dilemma, or maybe I’m still feeling bad that she lost the 2006 race (North Country nomination) to Reese Witherspoon. Or maybe it is still push-back against some audience members who, when viewing the trailer for North Country in a theater, stated rather loudly “she’s such a pretty girl, I don’t know why she takes all these roles that make her ugly.”
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
1. Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
2. Paul Schneider, Bright Star
3. Alfred Molina, An Education
4. Stanley Tucci, Julie & Julia
5. Woody Harrelson, Zombieland
As usual with the Best Supporting roles with the actors, the film is usually worth viewing if only for these performances.
TOP TEN MOVIES OF 2009
1. Up in the Air
2. A Serious Man
3. The Brothers Bloom
4. UP
5. The Hurt Locker
6. An Education
7. Bright Star
8. District 9
9. Zombieland
10. Coraline
With a shout out to Star Trek - because it was by far the most "entertaining" roller-coaster ride of the year, the best (and yes, I know these are fighting words) Trek movie to-date, and it just barely missed my list.
But here's the most fun (least agonizing) list of the year:
FIVE WORST MOVIES OF 2009
1. Terminator: Rise of the Machines
2. Precious yes, something or other Push
3. Moon
4. Nine
5. The International
Just to be clear, these are not really the worst movies of the year, these are MY least favorite of the year based on how I felt during (and after) the viewing. Terminator - well, it was just a piece of trash. And I was coming off withdrawal from TTSCC. Precious - well, this the the Waking Ned Devine of the year in my books. Overrated, overdone, overly constructed - downright painful at times (and I don't mean subject matter). It has been a very, very long time since I found myself looking away from the screen to get a break from the visual choices (again, not plot choices). Moon/i> - man Sam, you let me down. Nine - flat, flat everything - a mistake all around. And finally, The International - just friggin' boring. How does one even make Clive boring?