Sin #28: Oscar Season

There’s an underwhelming forecast for this year’s academy awards. First came the news of an expanded ten-nominees for best picture, a pointless and ill-fated decision (surely influenced by last year’s snub of Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight”); my guess is that one of these years it will go back to the usual five.

Then came the movies themselves: “Up in the Air”, “Avatar”, “Inglorious Basterds”, “Precious” and “The Hurt Locker” have figured prominently in most awards but I doubt the greatness of the nominees (except for “Basterds”, which was my favorite movie of 2009; haven’t seen “Precious”). The other contenders are “District 9”, “Up”, “The Blind Side”, “An Education” and “A Serious Man”; since they virtually don’t have a chance, what’s the point in nominating them?

Now, some find interesting the duel between ex-spouses James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow, whose films are pretty competitive for the best picture award (and direction, certainly). While “The Hurt Locker” is a much better film than Avatar (which is merely a visually interesting ecologically-themed adventure with zero originality), I still didn’t think Bigelow’s film was so great; yes, it is an incredibly tense and focused thriller with amazing direction but still, it left me a bit cold.

In the acting categories there will be no surprises. It will be Jeff Bridges, Sandra Bullock, Mo’Nique and Christoph Waltz. On the technical fronts no doubt “Avatar” will rule. Another certainty is “Up” winning best animated feature (it’s pretty much guaranteed since it received a Best Picture nomination).

I was disappointed at this year’s nominations. Where is “(500) Days of Summer” and its rightful spot at the best screenplay nominations, why was “Bright Star” and its stars Abbie Cornish and Ben Whishaw completely shut out, where is “Ponyo” or “Mary and Max” on the animated nominations or, on the foreign category, why wasn’t “Broken Embraces” or “We, the Living” considered?

Well, every year is the same thing and I guess that Hollywood and its policies justify many cinematic crimes. The academy awards have always been a parade of glamour that doesn’t really mean much beyond its frivolous front. Every once in a while they get it right, but it’s not really important for the viewer (many classic movies, like “Citizen Kane” or “2001”, were completely snubbed at the time). Filmmakers and actors are more interested in them since it looks nice on their resumes and might even get them more work opportunities on the future. But for us, it’s all about the glamour.