Woo-hoo! We did it! We managed to see every movie that’s nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award BEFORE the Oscars completing goal #90 on my 101 list! The last couple weeks have been jam packed with seeing movies and not a lot of free time left over to blog about them so you’re all in for a movie review overload. Opps ;-) Sorry about that. BUT, not to fear – there’s a little something in it for you too. We’ve posted our Oscar predictions below AND given you the chance to cast your own votes right here on the blog! The Oscars air on Sunday night and whoever gets the most predictions correct will get two free movie tickets! YAY FOR FREE STUFF!

• Black Swan – CHECK!
• The Fighter – CHECK!
• Inception – CHECK!
• The Kids Are All Right – CHECK!
• The King’s Speech – CHECK!
• 127 Hours – CHECK!
• The Social Network – CHECK!
• Toy Story 3 – CHECK!
• True Grit – CHECK!
• Winter’s Bone – CHECK!

THE KING’S SPEECH

I went in with the idea that this was going to be a typical, somewhat slow, historical drama. I was pleasantly surprised! This film was really an amazing piece of story telling: awesome performances (especially by Colin Firth & Geoffery Rush) and a visually stunning movie. It explored the full range of emotions; there were many serious and heartfelt scenes, but it also had really lighthearted and funny moments. I can’t think of a single negative thing to say about this film. It was THAT good.

 

TOY STORY 3

I have to start by saying that I’m not really a big “kids movie” watcher. To me, this felt like just another kids movie, although I do give it props for addressing some serious themes. Sorry facebook & twitter friends – no tears from me. And Ryan liked it so much that he fell asleep. My overall take – cute for a kids movie, but it’s no Best Picture.

 

BLACK SWAN

There are scenes from Black Swan that will remain forever etched into my brian – and NOT in a good way – in the “creepy images that will come back to haunt me in my nightmares” kind of way. While I’m not a fan of creepy movies, I can absolutely appreciate the fact that it was an extremely well made film in terms of plot, cinematography and performances. For what it was intended to be, a disturbing story that was meant to make you uncomfortable and mess with your head, it was truly exceptional. That being said – I have no desire to ever sit through it again. And I won’t be the least bit surprised if Natalie Portman takes home Best Actress for this one.

 

127 HOURS

It may have had it’s tough to sit through moments, but overall 127 Hours was really great movie making. The skillful eye it took to make 95% of the movie with one actor, in one setting and still keep the audience engaged is commendable. It was a truly great performance by James Franco and it felt like a story that was really fresh. It had it’s similarities to other survival story type movies, but the narrative style and singular focus on one person really made it unique. AND it didn’t feel like you were actually sitting in the theater for “127 hours” which was very much appreciated.

 

TRUE GRIT

I walked away from True Grit thinking, “Well that was ok.” The most remarkable thing about the movie for me was probably the actual script. There were multiple types of complex dialects and a mix of speaking styles so it was kind of interesting to listen to the characters talk to each other. The film was also filled with tons of great imagery that gave a strong sense of the world the characters were living in so I’d give it points for cinematography too.

 

On to the good stuff – it’s predictions time! Here’s how we weigh in for these six categories:

OK – it’s contest time! Vote for your predictions below and whoever get the most categories right will WIN TWO FREE MOVIE TICKETS!

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Thanks for voting everybody and for following along with us on our cinematic adventure :-) Can’t wait for Sunday!

*** POST UPDATED 2/28: The Oscars have all been given and our votes have been tallied! The official winner is . . . the fabulously movie savvy Shannon Suiter! Congratulations on being the ONLY entry to get all 6 categories correct! You rock :-) Hope you enjoy your free movie tickets!