So tonight is Hollywood Self-Appreciation Night! Also known as the Oscars.
Since I’m a fan of the movies and pop culture, I try to watch as many of the movies
that are nominated for Best Picture. Since last year when they up’d it from
five movies to 10, it’s a little tougher to see them all. So far, I’ve seen eight out of 10.
I still need to see “True Grit”… and the DVD for “Winter’s Bone” is arriving
tomorrow from Netflix!!! A day late, and a movie short…

“Black Swan” – my vote for Best Picture. I think it was the movie I enjoyed the most.
I was engaged the whole time. I loved the unexpected twists. Kinda freaky. Very cool.
Also kind of freaky when you see how skinny & emaciated Natalie Portman is in the
movie… and then look at her now!!! My guess is that she’ll waddle onstage to accept
her Oscar for Best Actress tonight

“The King’s Speech” – Sure, the acting was incredible. Sure, Colin Firth will win
for Best Actor. Sure, he’s always good in every movie he does. I just don’t care. Sorry.
I put him in the same category as Meryl Streep & Julianne Moore. Always great acting,
but I still don’t care. And my other thought… if you’re part of the Royal Family and you
have this terrible stammering problem, don’t you think they would have fixed it well before
then… like maybe third grade?! When they fixed my own “lack of R’s” speech impediment!

“The Social Network” – A lot of hype. You know I’m not a huge fan of Facebook
to begin with. And this movie didn’t win me over. It was all about this deposition,
that deposition, and lot of guys in hooded sweatshirts. I thought the coolest part
was the fact that the “twins” were played by one actor!

“127 Hours” – I loved it. Now of course, I also do long distance bike trips by myself.
And I’ve hiked in canyons very similar to the one in the movie. I thought the movie was
very well filmed – considering he was trapped in the canyon for the majority of the movie?!
And I can totally understand the sense of adventure and the eventual message!

“The Fighter” – okay… I saw “The Wrestler” a couple years ago. Do I need to see this too?
I thought Christian Bale did a great job playing the crack addicted brother. But I’m afraid
that Markie-Mark was really still just Markie-Mark. The really movie scene stealers were
the gaggle of sisters. Loved ’em. I think they should get a spin-off of their own!!!
I’m guessing that Christian Bale will win Best Supporting Actor, as well as the Mom for
Best Supporting Actress. Although I’d LOVE to see an award for Best Supporting Sisters!!!

“Toy Story 3” – Yes, it’s a great movie. Yes, I may have shed a small tear towards the end.
But I guarantee you that it never would have been nominated for Best Picture back when
they only nominated five pictures. Still, it was sad to finally say goodbye to Woody & Buzz.

“Inception” – A dream, in a dream… and I almost fell asleep. I’m not a big fan of movies
that rely SO much on the supposed “coolness” of all the computer graphics. The story was
pretty tough to follow. And I’m pretty sure I got it… and it wasn’t worth the work.

“The Kids Are Alright” – Again, never would have made it onto the Best Picture list
when there were only five movies nominated. I felt like I was watching a newer, trendier
ABC After-School Special about “my two moms.”

“True Grit” – I’ve seen the original… do I need to see the remake?!

“Winter’s Bone” – Like I said, the DVD shows up tomorrow. I’ve heard there’s some
good acting. Too bad I won’t be seeing it in time to “vote.”

Now there were a couple other movies I’ve seen recently…

“Exit Through The Gift Shop” – up for Best Documentary Feature. It’s a cool movie
about the world of graffiti street artists and the film maker that followed them. Should be
interesting as one of the guys nominated is one of the street artists – but he’s never
been seen, he speaks through a voice distorter, and is constantly cloaked in black!

“Catfish” – should have received a Documentary Nomination… but didn’t. I enjoyed it.
It’s about a New York photographer who befriends a Michigan girl who paints copies of
his photographs. They become Facebook friends, then her family “friends” him too…
and then things begin to go awry! A little creepy…

And the Oscar goes to…