More than DOUBLE the number of losers! Hahahaha!

This is about selling the nominees through advertising. Nothing to see here.

i wish people could just enjoy Avatar for what it is!

District 9 was a shiat movie. shiat I say!

I've only seen The Hurt Locker and Inglourious Basterds from that list. I'm honestly not sure which I prefer, though, as they were both tense, exciting, and smart.

dopeydwarf: People pay attention to this shiat?

I do. I was thrilled when No Country for Old Men won. It was shallow validation in some ways, but also meant that a lot more folks would be made aware of what I consider to be a great film.

Ah. Neglected to read the entire list in TFA. District 9 was very good, though not quite as much as those other two.

It was very intelligent and beautiful to watch, but did seem to have some inconsistencies. I did like that the protagonist wasn't always likeable.

In before the Avatar haters arrive.

FuzzyLynx: In before the Avatar haters arrive.

Just barely.

I haven't seen Inglourious Basterds. Was it good?

/My wife hates Tarantino. :/

I saw Avatar. I liked it. I'm not sure it deserves to be nominated, though.

That headline should really have "Up" in it, and not just as part of another movie title.

sounds about right. District 9 was good, but it was by no means a best picture contender. While Avatar had a fairly predictable story, the technical achievements alone will get it a best pic nomination, just like Star Wars got in 1977. Right now, I'd say best picture could go to the Hurt Locker. Critics have been waiting for an Iraq movie to cheer and this is the first one that didn't suck.

The only dark horse I'm hoping for is a best actor nod for Patton Oswalt in Big Fan.

Leishu: I haven't seen Inglourious Basterds. Was it good?

/My wife hates Tarantino. :/

I liked it. It was pretty fun to watch. Typical Tarantino.
He seems to go for the "gorey flick at the drive-in" experience.
I may be one of the few Farkers that likes Tarantino though....

tallguywithglasseson: *reads TFA*

They're nominating ten films for Best Motion Picture now?

Seriously, WTF?
There hasn't been a year where any one of ten movies that were released could be considered for "Best Picture."


ITIL Prince: This is about selling the nominees through advertising. Nothing to see here.

Pretty much. Although what I do see is the further deterioration of the industry.

PickinWhiskers: Leishu: I haven't seen Inglourious Basterds. Was it good?

/My wife hates Tarantino. :/

I liked it. It was pretty fun to watch. Typical Tarantino.
He seems to go for the "gorey flick at the drive-in" experience.
I may be one of the few Farkers that likes Tarantino though....

Gory, BTW. Sorry.
FTFM.

Avatar won't win Best Picture in my opinion. The story wasn't there, and the Academy cares about that way more than they care about SFX.

I like Up in the Air right now. Haven't seen The Hurt Locker yet though.

homarjr: Avatar won't win Best Picture in my opinion. The story wasn't there, and the Academy cares about that way more than they care about SFX.

I like Up in the Air right now. Haven't seen The Hurt Locker yet though.

I haven't seen 'Up In the Air'. It looks like a romantic comedy from the comercials. Is it really that good?

Precious was very good, but I don't know about best pic material. Monique's performance blew me away. She deserves all the film's accolades.

I really liked Up in the Air, but again, it didn't feel like it had the "best movie" thing going for it. Same goes for "A Serious Man" which was the most thoughtful film of the year.

But F it, Hangover, District 9, Star Trek and Avatar were my favorite trips to the movies this year.

PickinWhiskers: I haven't seen 'Up In the Air'. It looks like a romantic comedy from the comercials. Is it really that good?

It'll surprise you. Avatar won't.

Gangway Fathead: But F it, Hangover, District 9, Star Trek and Avatar were my favorite trips to the movies this year.

I completely agree.

Terminator: Salvation and 2012 were the worst trips.

The Hurt Locker is probably the best movie released this year. It's so farking crazy. If you haven't seen it yet, I suggest it strongly.

Anyway, I disagree with all of the praise Inglorious Bastards is getting. I feel like it was Quentin Tarantino's worst movie. It felt like it was supposed to be an action movie but the main problem of it was: 143 minutes of the film was talking, and the other ten minutes were action. I expect Tarantino films to be witty and smart while at the same time bloody.

homarjr: PickinWhiskers: I haven't seen 'Up In the Air'. It looks like a romantic comedy from the comercials. Is it really that good?

It'll surprise you. Avatar won't.

Cool. Thanks.

homarjr: Gangway Fathead: But F it, Hangover, District 9, Star Trek and Avatar were my favorite trips to the movies this year.

I completely agree.

Terminator: Salvation and 2012 were the worst trips.

Wait a minute here...homarjr , did you you like Avatar or not?
I thought The Hangover was a typical high school movie (Ed Helms was great), District 9 sucked, Star Wars was good.

I loved Up in the Air, but only cause i was barely able to get past the fact that its a 2 hr long commercial for American Airlines

PickinWhiskers: Wait a minute here...homarjr , did you you like Avatar or not?

I thoroughly enjoyed Avatar. I'm just saying it won't win Best Picture because the story isn't as great as the other potential nominees. No different than Star Trek really.

LaserShark: It felt like it was supposed to be an action movie but the main problem of it was: 143 minutes of the film was talking, and the other ten minutes were action.

It wasn't supposed to be an action movie. For some damn reason it was promoted as an action movie, probably because that's what studios think people want to see.

WHY IS THIS FILM SO UNDERLOOKED?


Easily the best film of the year

2 that look bad from the advertisements are Avatar and Up in the Air.
Guess I have some movie watching to do.

fish_monster: WHY IS THIS FILM SO UNDERLOOKED?


Easily the best film of the year

Yeah that was actually a pretty good film. I liked it.

My own Top 5 Best Picture picks:

--Star Trek
--Friday the 13th
--Fanboys
--I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
--Found Footage Festival Volume 4

/Yeah, there's probably a reason why I don't work at the Academy.
//Fark it, I like what I like

I've seen quite a few of the possible contenders so far this year, and my favorites so far would be Basterds, The Hurt Locker, and Up in the Air. I have seen Moon, but although I liked it very much, I just wouldn't consider it among the highest tier, IMO. I still have a number left to see including An Education, among others, so it's not a complete list.

As for the absolute best out of those that I have seen, it would have to be Up in the Air. One of the best films I've seen in a number of years. Do yourself a favor and see this. It was released at the absolute perfect time and captures the spirit of the day perfectly.

Avatar in no way belongs in a discussion about Best Picture, but unfortunately it will likely be there.

fish_monster: WHY IS THIS FILM SO UNDERLOOKED?


Easily the best film of the year

Never even heard of it. It is now on the Netflix cue. Position 1. The wife will just have to wait for The Devil Wears Fried Green Steel Magnolia's or whatever crappy chick flick she's clogged the cue up with this time.

IMDWalrus: I saw Avatar. I liked it. I'm not sure it deserves to be nominated, though.

That headline should really have "Up" in it, and not just as part of another movie title.

I don't really get it if people bashed "Avatar" and gave "Up" a pass.

Both are by-the-numbers, it's just one is more 'kid-friendly' (I don't exactly agree about that; I grew up in the age of the greased-up action star; I think kids can handle violence just fine if given proper context by the parents).

I saw both, and I liked both. I saw both in 3D (Avatar in IMAX), and if there's one thing I have to put on Avatar's column is that I wasn't born when the first Star Wars movie came out; and, maybe it was the IMAX, but watching it, I finally understand how people felt when they saw SW for the first time in 1977.

However, Up gets massive props for the opening sequence.

Both include examples of extraordinary filmmaking; neither is the best movie I've ever seen (hell, I liked Sherlock Holmes better than both of them on the whole; out of the three, SH would be the first I'd choose to watch again.)

PickinWhiskers: homarjr: Gangway Fathead: But F it, Hangover, District 9, Star Trek and Avatar were my favorite trips to the movies this year.

I completely agree.

Terminator: Salvation and 2012 were the worst trips.

Wait a minute here...homarjr , did you you like Avatar or not?
I thought The Hangover was a typical high school movie (Ed Helms was great), District 9 sucked, Star Wars was good.

You trying to troll for trekkies?

asimplescribe: PickinWhiskers: homarjr: Gangway Fathead: But F it, Hangover, District 9, Star Trek and Avatar were my favorite trips to the movies this year.

I completely agree.

Terminator: Salvation and 2012 were the worst trips.

Wait a minute here...homarjr , did you you like Avatar or not?
I thought The Hangover was a typical high school movie (Ed Helms was great), District 9 sucked, Star Wars was good.

You trying to troll for trekkies?

Trek, Sorry.

I think few people realize how much of a technophobe most of the judges are, or how old most of them are. I don't see Avatar walking away with much this year.

Well didn't Dances With Wolves win best picture? Avatar is a shoe in then!
I liked it because it was pretty to look at but the story was terrible.

Up and District 9 were my favorites from last year.

The top 5 listed here is pretty much in line with what I would assume given the Academy's track record... although I would honestly switch Precious with A Serious Man. While I loved Precious in the sense that the acting was absolutely outstanding, it left me with a bad taste in my mouth in the sense that the ending didn't follow at all from the rest of the film... kind of like the ending to 'Do the Right Thing' now that I think about it.

Having seen all 5 films my personal order would go like this:

1. The Hurt Locker
2. Inglourious Basterds
3. Avatar
4. Up in the Air
5. Precious

While I liked Up in the Air... it reminds me too much of Reitman's other films. Guy (or girl) has a cynical view on life; learns that their view isn't necessarily right; finds out that, actually, people are assholes; self-depricating monologue from the film's star

I want a movie that is outside the box, one willing to take risks, which is why I am fine with Hurt Locker, Avatar, or Inglourious Basterds winning it all this year... and IMO, because the voting rules are changing (into a weighted vote where you rank the films 1-10 rather than just vote for one to win) my guess is that Inglourious Basterds or Avatar will win Best Pic this year.

pkellmey: I think few people realize how much of a technophobe most of the judges are, or how old most of them are. I don't see Avatar walking away with much this year.

I think people underestimate the Academy's desire to have another blockbuster best picture winner. The last one was Lord of the Rings six years ago.

Inglourious Basterds is one of the worst movies in the history of movies. I would rather watch killer tomatos while tatsuma lectures me on the jews.

Love Quintin, but Death Proof and Bastards was complete garbage.

fish_monster: WHY IS THIS FILM SO UNDERLOOKED?


Easily the best film of the year

If by easily the best film you mean easily the most boring film of the decade than yes. The english patient had more action. Also SAM ROCKWELL CAN NOT CARRY A MOVIE BY HIM SELF, I dont care how many of him you have.

Hurt Locker, nubians. Do yourself a favor. Best movie of the year...

pkellmey: I think few people realize how much of a technophobe most of the judges are, or how old most of them are. I don't see Avatar walking away with much this year.

It's a bit stronger movie year than years past, otherwise I could see Avatar winning best picture. So acting awards are out, and best picture is out, but I think it can pull in a lot of other awards like director, cinematography, etc.

In terms of movie making history, I'd say its the one of the most important movie of the last 5-10 years, for taking the greatest steps forward in technology. I'd mark it as the first movie with a CGI main character that worked as well as a person. With Gollum probably being the first CGI supporting character that fit that bill.

I still think Up was my favorite movie of the year though, but I haven't seen some of the ones that were nominated. The string of quality movies that Pixar has put together is astounding.

My guess is that Up in the Air will win because it looks (note: I have not seen the film) like Safe Oscar bet. Precious was great, but a bit of a downer film. Inglorious Basterds is my favorite of those listed, but will probably only get the Supporting Actor nod, maybe even Best Director. I don't really see Avatar winning much outside of technical categories, possibly Best Director.


I haven't seen the Hurt Locker, but honestly, and I know I'm going to get flamed for it, it kind of sounds like a-typical "You don't know the trials and tribulations of our Service Members! :*(" quasi-arty film. Not that I'm doubting it's a good film, just that something similar has probably been made before.