Academy Awards

Every year, after the Academy Award nominations come out, I try and watch everything nominated for Best Picture. Some years it doesn't happen because I run out of time, or I am too scared to watch one of the nominations. Last year they changed it from five Best Picture Nominations to ten. The ten nominations for Best Picture this year were (listed in the order that I saw them):

1- Inception
2- Social Network
3- 127 Hours
4- Toy Story 3
5- Winter's Bone
6- The Kids Are Alright
7- True Grit
8- The King's Speech
9- Black Swan
10- The Fighter

I did manage to see them all this year, and even in a more timely manner than usual. Some years, I can't believe the movies that the Academy has nominated. Every once in a while, the Academy and I agree, but overall the last few years have made me wonder why I do this. The Hurt Locker winning last year, No Country for Old Men in 2008 and the Departed in 2007, make a running streak of some pretty depressing movies. so, the last few years, I felt like the Academy was telling me that the world was going to hell, and there wasn't anything that anyone could do about it. This year, the movies nominated were SO MUCH BETTER!

If I had to pick a running theme for the nominations this year, I would say that the theme was family. Whether it is the blood that ties us together, the family that we create for ourselves, the family that support us, the family that we are trying to get back to, the father we are trying to find, or the one we are trying to avenge, the mother that passes down her own issues, the family that we didn't appreciate until we almost lost them, etc... This year I felt like the nominations were about who we are, where we are going, and the things that we have to sacrifice to get there.

I was also pleasantly surprised with awards themselves. Lately, even if they do nominate a movie I like it doesn't win. I was happy with the winners this year though. Natalie Portman won Best Actress, Colin Firth won Best Actor and the King's Speech won Best Picture! It was a tie for me whether I wanted Inception or the King's Speech to win, so I am happy. I was only disappointed that Hans Zimmer didn't win Best Original Score for Inception because it is amazing. I also really loved the speeches by the winners this year. Natalie Portman and Colin Firth were so cute. One of my favorite speeches was by Christian Bale though, when he thanked his daughter and said that she had taught him so much more than he could ever teach her. It was a fun night, and I have faith in the Academy once again.