Just another WordPress.com weblog

The nominations for the 82nd Academy Awards have been announced. And they’re pretty much what was expected (with one or two notable exceptions). I’m going to be giving a run-down of all the categories with some synopsizing and trailers for the major prizes. Here or there you might see me comment on a film I believe deserves special attention as being overlooked in 2009.

And the nominees are *opens golden envelope*:
Best Picture

1. Avatar (dir. James Cameron; produced by Lightstorm Entertainment and Dune Entertainment; distributed by 20th Century Fox)

Grossing over $2bn worldwide and the most financially successful film of all time, it would have been an almighty snub for this film not to have been included. In the not-too-distant future John Smith Jake Sully is a paraplegic former Marine offered a new chance on environmentally hostile moon Pandora. On Pandora Jake is given an Avatar, a separate body which is a mixture of his DNA as well as the DNA of the native population, the Na’vi. In his avatar body Jake encounters Na’vi warrior princess Pocahontas Neytiri with whom he falls in love. Together they attempt to stop the encroaching corporate human population from destroying their villages and sacred sites.
This film was widely hailed as one of the most significant steps towards photorealistic CGI people (or Na’vi in this case) and environments since Gollum; it’s plot however came under some criticism for it’s simplistic nature and predictable outcome.

Trailer (sorry for the annoying woman, it was either her or you get the trailer in German)

2. The Blind Side (dir. John Lee Hancock; produced by Alcon Entertainment; distributed by Warner Bros.)

This is a sports drama documenting the true story tale of American footballer Michael Oher. Oher is an orphan who runs away from numerous foster families. One foster parent enrolls him at high school where it is clear Oher has an aptitude for football and could gain entry to a University on a football scolarship. Simultaneously, Oher begins to gravitate towards the Tuohy family. He develops a maternal bond with matriarch Leigh Anne and is best friends with her son SJ. As Oher’s grades drop it becomes unlikely that he will be able to reach university; however the Tuohy’s pitch in and a private tutor is hired.

Trailer

3. District 9 (dir. Neill Blomkamp; produced by QED International; distributed by TriStar Pictures)

District 9 is a science-fiction film set in an alternate South Africa. An alien spaceship has been hovering above Johannesburg for over 20 years. Its inhabitants number of a million are all forced to live in a cordoned off area of the city called District 9, but are being forced to relocate to a new camp. MNU (a corporation with a private military) are tasked with the relocation which is brutal. MNU operative Wikus is infected on his arm with a mysterious substance, which begins to mutate into an alien arm. He becomes disillusioned with MNU after they attempt to dissect him, and with the help of an alien dubbed Johnson he joins the alien cause.

Trailer

And as a special treat, here is the original short film it was based on, Alive in Joburg:

4. An Education (dir. Lone Scherfig; produced by E1 Entertainment; distributed by Sony Picture Classics)

1961 and 16 year old Jenny Miller is a devoted academic, excelling in school and enjoying a restricted life of orchestral performance and Latin repetition whilst vying for a place at Oxford. That is until she meets charming older man David Goldman who leads her into a life of glamour and glitz with his high society friends Danny and Helen. David’s infectious charms win over Jenny’s parents who agree to allow him to take her to concerts, jazz clubs, racetracks, Oxford and Paris. David’s charm is merely a persona though, and as his secrets are revealed he loses Jenny’s love.

Trailer

5. The Hurt Locker (dir. Kathryn Bigelow; produced by Voltage Pictures; distributed by Summit Entertainment)

Sergeant William James is a reckless bomb disposal expert in Iraq, 2004. Tensions mount as his team don’t trust him because of his unorthodox methods. James’ mental state is questionable and his thrill at success is tampered by his feelings of dismay when he fails and when he discovers the body of a local boy with a bomb stitched into it. A man is forced to enter a military checkpoint strapped to a bomb – James ultimately fails to disarm it. He is sent home. He tells his son that there is only one thing he loves now – James returns to Iraq. The story of a soldier losing his grip on reality this is a master-class in subtle tension building and is one of 2009′s most acclaimed films.

Trailer

6. Inglourious Basterds (dir. Quentin Tarantino; produced by A Band Apart and Studio Babelsberg; distributed by The Weinstein Company and Universal Pictures)

The latest off-beat adventure from QT, this follows the story eight Jewish-American soldiers behind enemy lines in World War 2 France. They wage a guerilla war against Nazis, never taking prisoners; they become known as the Basterds, and their leader, Lt. Aldo Raine, is The Apache (for his fondness for scalping people). Simultaneously a young Jewish girl called Shosanna is running a cinema in Paris after all her family are murdered. With the premiere of a new propaganda film looming she takes her chance to get rid of the Nazi hierarchy (including Hitler) by planning to burn the cinema to the ground. However the Basterds have a similar idea…

Trailer

7. A Serious Man (dir. Joel and Ethan Cohen; produced by Relativity Media, StudioCanal, Working Title Films and Mike Zoss Productions; distributed by Focus Features)

Black comedy from the ever dependable Cohens. Larry Gopnik lives with his son Danny (who smokes pot) , his wife Judith (who is seeking a divorce, so she can move in with family friend Sy), his daughter Sarah (who is stealing money for a nose job), and his brother Arthur (who is sleeping on their sofa). Larry is up for tenure at the university where he lectures but the committee receive letters against his appointment. He is forced out the house, penniless, with his brother. Soon after a student, Clive, attempts to bribe him. Sy dies a pauper in a car-crash, forcing Larry to pay for his funeral. Finding no help from his Rabbis, Larry attends his son’s bar mitzvah. His son is high. Afterwards he accepts Clive’s bribe, just as a tornado bears down on the city.

Trailer

8. Up (dir. Pete Docter and Bob Peterson; produced by Pixar Animation Studios; distributed by Walt Disney Pictures)

Bitter widower Carl harbours a secret desire; to fulfil a promise made to his wife and carry his house to Paradise Falls in South America. As the house flies over the city skyline suspended by thousands of helium balloons Carl realises that he has an unwanted passenger aboard: a child, called Russell. In South America Carl and Russell meet Dug (a dog with a collar which allows him to talk), and Kevin a (female) flightless bird. Carl also meets childhood hero Muntz, an explorer who’s reputation has long faded. Carl discovers that he has been trying to capture Kevin and has killed any other explorers who get in his way. Russell, Dug and Carl set out to stop Muntz once and for all, and to get Kevin back.

Last one now people! Are you flagging at the back there? Come on! One more! It’s got George Clooney in it?

9. Up In The Air (dir. Jason Reitman; produced by Cold Spring Studios, DreamWorks Studios, The Montecito Picture Company, Rickshaw Productions, Right Of Way Films; distributed by Paramount Pictures)

Ryan Bingham works in CTC for ISM. Which basically means he flies all over the country firing people. He lives a life of sterile airport air, salted hotel peanuts and causal relationships while on his way to earning 10 million frequent flyer miles. He gives motivational speeches expounding the benefits of a life with no relationships. ISM force him to take on a co-flyer, Natalie, who wants to institute a remote lay-off scheme rather than fire people face to face. She convinces him to commit to a serious relationship with casual acquaintance Alex. They attend his sister’s wedding where he has to convince a nervous groom to go with it – using his motivational speech for the opposite purpose. When Alex is revealed to be married he writes Natalie a glowing review, but it is revealed that one of the remotely fired employees has killed herself, and her program is put on hold.

So there we are people. The Hurt Locker and Avatar are the hot favourites, but any of the others could conceivably cause an upset. Up is likely to win in the Best Animated Feature category, so can it win Best Picture too?