OSCAR NIGHT 2011 PREPARATION | Plan of Attack

Only 32 days until the Academy Awards, so it's time to officially build my Oscar nominee catch-up viewing. Starting with the 25 Movies You Need to See Before Oscar Night, here's my first pass at what I still need to see.

1. The Social Network (97%) - No, I haven't seen it yet. I've been busy. This will be a close one. Currently on DVD, but not available on Netflix until 2/8.
2. The King's Speech (96%) - Top of the list. I'll catch it as soon as Gina returns from her upcoming trip to Florida.
3. Inception (86%) - Fun ride, engaging story, but not best picture.
4. The Fighter (89%) - Can't wait to see it.
5. Toy Story 3 (99%) - I didn't believe Pixar could pull off another sequel for Toy Story, but they did. I really liked How to Train Your Dragon, but I think Toy Story 3 will win best animated feature film.
6. True Grit (95%) - Loved it, and currently leading my best picture, but I haven't seen any of its real competitors yet.
7. Black Swan (89%) - Even the trailer creeps me out. I think I'll be seeing this one on my own.
8. The Kids Are All Right (94%) - It was okay. I'm eager to see the other nominees for Actress in a Leading Role.
9. 127 Hours (93%) - Might curb my desire to go hiking.
10. Winter's Bone (94%) - In the queue for this weekend.
11. The Town (94%) - I love a good heist movie. Jeremy Renner = intense!
12. Rabbit Hole (88%) - Down on the list and may not make it before Oscar night.
13. Another Year (91%) - Up for best original screenplay. Hope to get to it.
14. Get Low (86%) - It has Bill Murray, so I have to watch it, but with no major nominations, it will wait.
15. How to Train Your Dragon (98%) - Dreamworks' best movie! They are getting much stronger (although, so is Pixar).
16. Blue Valentine (89%) - Should I see it on Valentine's Day?
17. Biutiful (63%) - Pretty low Tomatometer score. Will it be available in KC?
18. Animal Kingdom (96%) - Just received it today. Watching it this weekend.
19. Waiting for "Superman" (88%) - Waiting for "Later, Man."
20. Alice in Wonderland (52%) - Saw it and amazed at how many times Tim Burton and Johnny Depp can repurpose Edward Scissorhands.
21. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (86%) - Instant view on Netflix this weekend.
22. Inside Job (97%) - Would like to see it and the other four documentaries.
23. The Illusionist (89%) - Hope it comes to KC.
24. Tangled (88%) - No way. No How.
25. Burlesque (37%) - I'll see Tangled before I see this.

Next step: rank order what I've seen so far. What do you plan to see before Oscar Night? What movies have you seen already? What do you hope will win?

Oscar Night 2011 Preparation | Starting Point

For the last two years, I made a personal quest to see as many nominated movies as possible before the Oscars. It fills several needs of mine. There is the obvious enjoyment of watching some great movies, but I also get to rank order the movies as I watch them, and in my mind, everything can and should be rank ordered. Plus there's the added adrenaline rush from trying to beat the clock and see so many movies in such a compressed time frame. I start with Entertainment Weekly's List of 25 Movies You Need to See Before Oscar Night which is in priority order for how they recommend to see them. Then I look up each movie on Rotten Tomatoes. This list has the Tomatometer score listed after each movie. I left it generic without my game plan so you can feel free to copy to create your own plan of action.

1. The Social Network (97%)
2. The King's Speech (96%)
3. Inception (86%)
4. The Fighter (89%)
5. Toy Story 3 (99%)
6. True Grit (95%)
7. Black Swan (89%)
8. The Kids Are All Right (94%)
9. 127 Hours (93%)
10. Winter's Bone (94%)
11. The Town (94%)
12. Rabbit Hole (88%)
13. Another Year (91%)
14. Get Low (86%)
15. How to Train Your Dragon (98%)
16. Blue Valentine (89%)
17. Biutiful (63%)
18. Animal Kingdom (96%)
19. Waiting for "Superman" (88%)
20. Alice in Wonderland (52%)
21. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (86%)
22. Inside Job (97%)
23. The Illusionist (89%)
24. Tangled (88%)
25. Burlesque (37%)

And now for our feature presentation...

OSCAR NIGHT PREP | “A Serious Man”

A movie about nothing, without all the humor of a show about nothing. It felt a little like the Saturday Night Live skit spin-off movies, meaning it was a clever idea that works well for a short, but falls short when stretched to a full length motion picture. There were a couple of captivating scenes, including the first of the movie which was an intriguing Hebrew folk tale with Fyvush Finkel in the role of a dybbuk.

The Coen brothers do a beautiful job of staging 1967 through the various scenes and characters including plenty of block constructed buildings, a doctor who smokes, and gorgeous Coupe de Villes. However, I felt no investment in any of the characters and the plot doesn't go anywhere. Which is actually the point I think they were trying to make. In my favorite scene of the movie, Rabbi Nachter tells an offbeat story of a dentist who finds a message on the back of one of his patient's teeth. His conclusion to the story provides a nice summary to the movie itself:

What would happen? Not much. He went back to work. For a while he checked every patient's teeth for new messages. He didn't find any. In time, he found he'd stopped checking. He returned to life. These questions that are bothering you, Larry - maybe they're like a toothache. We feel them for a while, then they go away.

The stunning visual transportation back to the 60's and the quirky subplots were just enough to rank it above District 9 but below Julie and Julia on my list of 17 movies to see before the Oscars.

1. The Hurt Locker
2. Inglorious Basterds
3. Precious
4. (500) Days of Summer
5. Up in the Air
6. Up
7. Star Trek
8. Avatar
9. Julie and Julia
> A Serious Man
10. District 9

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• Did you see the movie? If so, what did you think of it?
• What else have you seen that is Oscar-worthy?
• What movies do you want to see before Oscar night?

Leave your thoughts in the comments section.