Yesterday, I attended the AMC Best Picture Showcase, a day-long event in which all five best picture nominees were screened back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back. Along with admission to the whole shebang, the $30 admission also included all the popcorn you could eat, and all the soda you could drink. Considering that I was in that theater for over 13 hours, that amounted to a metric ton of each (although not, I suspect, as much as the average American consumes during a normal moviegoing experience). It was a great time, if one of the most unhealthy days I’ve had in a very long time.
One of the best parts of the whole thing was as I mentioned in my Oscar pics, I hadn’t seen any of these movies. Having seen them all now, I can actually make an opinion on what I think should win.
I have to say this is a surprisingly good year, if slightly uneven. Of the five, even the one I didn’t like (Babel) is still by and large a decent movie. I just didn’t think it came together in the end, and was a bit jumbled. Which may have been the point, but I didn’t care for it (then again, I loved Crash last year, so take my opinion however you like).
My favorite of them (and the one I would like to see win, even if I’m pretty sure it won’t), is Little Miss Sunshine. It’s just such a great, self-contained little film. Everything about it is just…right. Closely behind that I’d have to put The Departed, although really closely behind that would have to be Letters from Iwo Jima. The Queen was quite good too. None of them is really a spectacular, stand-out, Oscar movie, but I’d say the overall quality this year is much better than in past years, which is surprising.
The festivities are getting underway now, with the traditional bubble-headed red carpet display of inanity, so I’m off to stargaze. Good luck to all of you betting on this year…me, I’m rather nervous, as my father and I only split on two categories (Song and Costume Design), so it’s gonna be tense, but only for about ten minutes. The rest of the time I can just watch. Enjoy the show!