Serious case of catch-up!

Well, the nominations have been announced and I am proud to say my husband and I ended up seeing all 10 of the Best Picture nominees! But goodness am I behind in telling you about them! And not to mention the other nominees we've seen.

The Fighter - Once again, annoyed by noisy patrons at the Arbor. What is the deal, people?! Anyways, I really liked the movie. Great acting performances and a really interesting story. I don't really follow any kind of fighting, so the plot was all new to me (it's the story of "Irish" Micky Ward). Christian Bale (Best Supporting Actor) certainly deserves the win and I was disappointed Mark Wahlberg didn't make the nomination cut. I read somewhere recently that Melissa Leo's (Best Supporting Actress) performance is kind of like, "Give me an Oscar!" and I do agree with that assessment. She's incredible, but she showed much more range and depth in Frozen River (her first Academy Award nomination). The sisters are as great as everyone says and Amy Adams (Best Supporting Actress) really holds her own as well. Good movie, but we'll get to my favorite movie set in Massachusetts in a minute.



The Kids Are All Right - Super interesting movie. To me, the movie was really about the difficulties of a committed relationship, regardless of your gender or orientation. Of course, it is complicated by the fact there is a third unknown figure (the sperm donor) that doesn't exist in all relationships. It was kind of comforting (to me) to see the similarities in romantic relationships, rather than the overt ones that the movie addresses on the surface. I don't really think Mark Ruffalo should have been nominated for Best Actor - he's good, of course - but he doesn't really cover any new ground in this role. Annette Bening (Best Actress) and Julianne Moore are believable and I really commend this movie for its boldness. Definitely one to see.



How to Train Your Dragon - Super cute, nominated for Best Animated Film and Best Original Score. Very fun to watch, great message, but doesn't really hold a candle to Toy Story 3.



The Town - Now this is my favorite movie set in Massachusetts and in my opinion, the biggest snub by the Academy. Jeremy Renner, of course, deserves his nomination for Best Supporting Actor, but this film deserves so much more. Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay - you name it. We finished it and I wanted to watch it again. Really interesting action/crime/drama, but much less complicated than The Departed. Do yourself a favor and Netflix this one ASAP.



Biutiful - Thankfully, not disrupted by loud Arbor patrons! This is nominated for Best Foreign Film and Best Actor (Javier Bardem). Bardem portrays a criminal who is diagnosed with terminal cancer and sets about his life to make things right. I really don't want to give away too much and while my short summary is dismal, this movie really is good. The imagery is subtle, yet lovely, and you continue to root for Javier Bardem's character. There are some difficult scenes, but the beauty really does outweigh those. Keep an eye out for when you feel like watching a heavy, subtitle, yet rewarding movie.

Coming up? Turns out our life is pretty busy between now and the big show. Our current Netflix movie is Animal Kingdom (Best Supporting Actress - Jacki Weaver) and we have I am Love (Best Costume Design), Restrepo (Best Documentary-Long Subject), and Exit Through the Gift Shop (Best Documentary-Long Subject) all on streaming. Unfortunately, we missed Rabbit Hole (Best Actress - Nicole Kidman) in the theaters, so if we make it back to our dear Arbor it will be to see either Blue Valentine (Best Actress - Michelle Williams) or The Illusionist (Best Animated Film) - or both!

What are you seeing next?