Introduction

My purpose for this blog is to see a good majority of the Oscar-worthy films of the year (and other movies which have received high acclaim), and write reviews on each one of them.

I have been a huge film buff for quite some time now (I spent many hours on imdb.com as a child), and few times of the year are more exciting than Oscar season! Last winter, I saw many of the films from 2008 which were up for nominations at the Academy Awards, and I thoroughly enjoyed the exposure to so many great films. In addition, it really helped make me a much more educated viewer on the night of the show.

I would like to repeat this effor this for the 2009 films, many of which are already garnering strong Oscar buzz. As always there are films which are gaining appeal for their outstanding acting, script writing and directing (sometimes, all three).

Like any year, the films expected to be nominated range from huge commercial smashes to smaller indie favorites. Some films will gain attention purely for a single shining performance, and some will do so for their overall appeal.

So I think the real question here is...what makes a good film? It is not neccesarily mass appeal. Take, for example, The Dark Knight. Almost everyone who saw it adored it, including many critics. Nevertheless, it was not even nominated for Best Picture. Instead, the nominees (excluding Benjamin Button) were all relatively small indie films that critics adored.

Some would argue that this is wrong...that it is indeed the films most liked by the most people that deserve to be entitled the Best Picture. Possibly in response to this, the Academy has bumped up the number of Best Picture nominees from 5 to 10. With this new system, it is inevitable that big movies (ie, Avatar, Star Trek) will be among the lucky to be nominated. What is not so certain is whether or not a "big" film will take home serious Oscar gold this year.

Blockbusters rarely do well at awards shows (aside from in categories such as Visual Effects and Art Direction), and, as an unfortunate result, the Oscars have seen a decline in ratings in recent years. Some have wondered if the Academy will start honoring blockbusters more (in an attempt to draw more viewers), or will continue to award those films they deem to be most worthy. Some wonder if they can do both...

Unfortunately, there is no "Dark Knight" this year...at least not one that I know of. No film that can rake in serious cash, but also provide a truly deep, thought-provoking storyline. As a result, I am anticipating that a film such as Up In The Air or The Hurt Locker will take home Best Picture (and probably Best Director and Best Screenplay, as well). {*UPDATE*: Avatar's Best Picture and Best Director wins at the Globes (an awards show that usually provides some indication of potential Oscar winners) may upset these predictions. Though I have not yet seen Avatar, my friends generally tell me that it is an amazing technological achievement, though one is severely lacking in story and emotion (a crucial part being a Best Picture winner). I think that now it will be very interesting to see if the Academy takes their typical route of awarding a smaller film, or giving into into the commercial world, and awarding Avatar with serious accolades.}

With all these "film geek" rants aside, I am making it my goal to see as many of these acclaimedmovies as possible before March 7th (the big night!), and then giving my subsequent predictions as to who will win. Wish me luck!