Oscar update... 8/10

So I have seen the following Oscar nominated films:

Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit

Leaving the following as unseen:

127 Hours
Winter's Bone

I do not know if I will get to see either of those. I am not sure I can handle the amputation in 127 Hours and to be honest I hadn't even heard of Winter's Bone before reading the list of nominees. I read the synopsis and it doesn't draw me in (even though it is supposed to be really good).

Today I thought about which of these would have been the 5 nominees if there were only 5. I think it would be a combination of the following:

The Social Network
The King's Speech
True Grit
The Fighter
Inception
The Black Swan

I do not know which of those would have been kicked from the list... Maybe Inception, because of timing of release, but I actually think it was the most innovative movie up there. Black Swan is really about Natalie Portman's performance (as a film it is compelling, don't get me wrong, but there are narrative details not fleshed out that make this more about the performance). She can win Best Actress and it will be the requisite acclaim for the film. The Social Network and The King's Speech are the 2 that I hear the most about as possible winners. I read one article today citing The Social Network as the 'smartest film' in the list as it's reason for potentially winning. Hmmmmm, backlash for Avatar being so 'not smart'? I wonder. I found it snappy dialogue wise, but really the idea that a guy created facebook to impress a girl because he didn't know how else to... well... I will watch it again later and perhaps have a different reaction to it. The King's Speech was also really anchored by Colin Firth, he should win Best Actor, but it seemed to be more of an ensemble and a fabulous one at that. I am biased by my obsession with royalty through the ages. I loved The Fighter. It totally surprised me, but I will be happy if Christian Bale wins for Best Supporting Actor - incredible performance, really. And today I saw True Grit. It was really the most artful of all the ones I saw. If the Oscars are a measure of ART, it was conceptually the most complete and beautiful.

I still haven't decided how I will vote - probably for The King's Speech... or The Social Network. I do want to win the prize...

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