So you’re a busy Princeton student and didn’t get a chance to watch all of the Oscar nominated movies; but you still want to be an informed viewer of the Oscars this Sunday or at least pretend to be popular culture literate. Well lucky for you I watch way more movies than I should. Here are a couple of synopses of the Oscar best picture nominees (that I’ve seen) in less than 5 minutes. You’re welcome.
In alphabetical order of course, let’s start with 127 Hours, starring James Franco. If you are fan of James Franco, like the entire world should be since he’s an actor, film director, screenwriter, film producer, published author, painter, and recipient of several degrees, then you should definitely make it a point to see this film at some point. The film is based on the true story of an adventurous mountain climber that got his arm stuck between two rocks. Doesn’t sound all that exciting, but he was trapped for (wait for it) 127 hours/over five days with merely his half full water bottle and his climbing supplies. It’s brutal and tough to get through, but James Franco owned every second of it. It was a great performance, authentic and real. I could literally feel his bone breaking when he finally freed himself. Based on the Princeton’s grade deflation, I award 127 Hours a B+.
Next up is Black Swan. If you haven’t heard anything about this film yet, you should really come out of the Lewis library basement. This movie had me speechless; I could barely leave my seat when the credits rolled. It’s the story of a safe, pleasant dancer who aims to please that suffers from a psychotic breakdown/personality split when she wins the role of both the White Swan and the Black Swan. It was highly disturbing, unexpectedly sexual, and thankfully comical. Did I mention how disturbing it was? Picture someone stabbing herself in the face with a nail filer. Yeah…I told you. But besides that mental picture you won’t be able to erase from your memory and the several other ones I won’t be able to erase from my memory, this film definitely stood out amongst the rest of 2010. Some are even calling it, the dance film of our generation. Sorry Step Up. Black Swan gets a solid Princeton A.
I unfortunately haven’t seen The Fighter yet, but it looks really good. Yea…
Next is Inception. This film came out in the summer, so you have no excuse for not seeing it yet. Talk about mind blowing! I must admit I saw it three times, and I’m not sure if I understand it completely. It’s a great film with great actors, great special effects, a riveting storyline, and great acting. It’s about a man whose only way to get back to his family is to place an idea in the head of the future owner of a huge company. To take such a very human experience and make it into a sci-fi adventure takes real ingenuity. I also love Leonardo Dicaprio! If you have not seen this movie yet, I’m not really sure what to tell you because it must be seen in theatres to be enjoyed properly. A dream within a dream, within another dream! There were some scenes like the “kick” scene and the Joseph Gordon-Levitt fight scene that people are going to be talking about for a while. A
The Kids Are All Right told the story of an untraditional family with two moms. Like any other family, this family is filled with strained/straining relationships. The only difference it that the cause of this tension is the kids’ discovery of their sperm donor. Though I expected the film to be groundbreaking, the plot mimicked the same old family drama, with a cheating spouse and a coming of age daughter. There was a scene in which the son asks his two mothers why they watch gay male porn, but besides that, it was pretty normal. There was of course good acting, but I didn’t leave the film totally satisfied. Solid B
The Kings Speech was phenomenal, especially if you’ve ever suffered from a speech impediment or ever felt inadequate and overwhelmed with responsibility, like I think we all have. It was a great job from Colin Firth, as always. It was humorous, inspiring, and definitely left me satisfied. Overall it was a great story with great acting, something that will never get old. A-
So I’m not sure if I agree that the Social Network is the movie of our generation, but it was a great film. It was timely, of course, which I think caused some people to hype it up a bit too much. It’s a classic lawsuit story, but this time between the maker of “The Facebook” and his former best friend and co-owner of “The Facebook.” Rent it, if you haven’t seen it. Watching it I felt very a part of that Ivy world, since it’s set at Harvard. It was very well done; I especially enjoyed the nonlinear narrative structure (aka it flashed forward and back constantly). I’m also a huge Jessie Eisenberg fan. The Winklevi were pretty hot too. A-
What can I even say about Toy Story 3? It was the perfect finish to one of my favorite childhood movies. This film was also pretty timely, with my life anyway. Andy is grown up now and moving away to college (oh the parallels!), so Woody and Buzz are anxious about what will become of them after Andy’s departure. After fighting off some crazy/evil toys, the gang returns to Andy right before he leaves for college. He ends up giving them to a young girl after playing with them one last time. *Tear* A-
The last two films in the Best Motion Picture of the Year category are True Grit and Winter’s Bone, neither of which I’ve seen. Apart from those three movies, I hope you feel more informed, and hopefully I’ll see you at Mathey College’s Oscar Party!