Posted by Matt Rosenberg on November 12, 2009 at 12:30 am
As discussed in an earlier post by Craig, this year’s Academy Awards will expand its nomination total to 10. What really gets me thinking is that could the Academy have picked a worse year to expand the nominations. Taking a look back on the movies that have come out this year, this has been a really bad year for movies.
When most years we see plenty of worthy movies being left off the Best Picture list, this year there might not be 5 worthy movies at all. To date, I believe the only movie to be worthy of a Best Picture nomination is “The Hurt Locker” starring Jeremy Renner and Anthony Mackie. In fact, Mackie could win for Best Supporting Actor as well. So if we just look at this from the perspective of 5 worthy movies, this year could be a real stretch. Well, with 10, there might be some problems.
Plenty of great movies came out this year; these movies however are wouldn’t what we call Best Picture worthy. One that comes to mind is J.J Abrams remake of “Star Trek.” This was one of the best movies of the summer, and a movie I will definitely get on DVD. However, worthy of a Best Picture nomination? Umm, I’m not so sure. In a year where there is a real shortage of quality films, “Star Trek” is more than likely to be up for the top prize.
Another movie that will likely be up for Best Picture is “UP.” “UP” was the CGI Summer smash hit that captured the hearts of adults and kids. Again, “UP” was great, but I would be skeptical to say it was as good as “Shrek.” Did “Shrek” get picked to race with the big boys, umm no, and neither should “UP.” However, because of the expansion, it will surely be up for Best Picture.
The final movie thus far this year that I think that will be selected as a Best Picture nomination is “Inglorious Basterds.” This movie was a big hit with a lot of people, especially Tarantino fans, with some even showering it with Best Picture hope. For me, I’m not so sure to jump on that band wagon. I enjoyed the movie but don’t think it’s Best Picture worthy. I leave the debate to you. However, I do believe it will get the nod only because of the need to fill 10 slots.
In year’s past plenty of incredible movies missed the boat on getting a Best Picture nod. One that comes to my mind last year was Gran Torino. That movie blew me away, and I thought it was the best movies of the year. Yet, somehow it missed the boat. Had the Academy expanded to 10 last year, the film would have surely been up for the award.
The Answer Man aka Arlen Faber ipod
In a move that should really be good for movies, reduce the debate on who got screwed, and shower more films with accolades, expanding the list to 10 is not a good idea for this year. Sure, we still have 2 more months of movies, but to date this year has been disappointing. We will see some mediocore films getting nom’s they don’t deserve.
What do you think?