We’re only 23 days away from Oscar — whatever form it ends up taking, let’s pray Billy Bush is not involved — and that means I’ve got some cramming to do over the next three weekends. You see, I love to be a fully informed Academy Awards viewer, and that means I need to see every nominee in the Best Picture, Actress, Actor, Director, Supporting Actress and Supporting Actor categories.
Problem is, seeing how most Oscar fare doesn’t open till late December, and the awards are so freakin’ early anymore, it’s getting harder than ever to achieve my goal. Plus, the list of nominees always includes at least one movie I like to think of as cinematic Brussels sprouts — a film that is supposedly packed with nutritional content, but doesn’t appeal to my taste buds (unless you wrap it in delicious bacon). And since I’m not really comfortable bringing savory meats to the cinema (rude!), I guess I’ll have to just suck it up and find a way to swallow down There Will Be Blood in the very near future.
Also on my to-do list (but in no way comparable to a greenish-grey veggie): In the Valley of Elah (with Charlize Theron, pictured), Atonement, Sweeney Todd, La Vie en Rose, I’m Not There, and the one with a really long title starring Brad Pitt. (Also: Over Her Dead Body. Man cannot live on cinematic masterpieces alone. And don’t act like you haven’t already made a mental note to order it when it’s On Demand in like six weeks.) Anyway, like I said, I’m gonna be cramming. What about you guys? Which Oscar-nominated flicks (click here for the full list) are you determined to catch before Feb. 24? ‘Fess up so I don’t have to feel so alone!
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In what may be a huge suprise to everyone I know the only movie I have seen is Sweeney. I do want to see There Will Be Blood and No Country since they seem to have all the odds on – but other than that I doubt I can get anymore in.
I’m seeing “There Will Be Blood” this weekend.
I’m also interested in checking out “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”, and “In the Valley of Elah”. Not so interested in “La Vie en Rose” (even though Marion Cotillard seems extremely lovely) nor “I’m Not There” (sorry, I’m just not into Bob Dylan…like at all). I’m on the fence about “The Assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford” (I wrote it out, so you didn’t have to, Slezak). I’m curious to see Pitt and Affleck and Mary Louise Parker and Sam Rockwell go to work, but…I guess I have no real reason as to why I’m on the fence. I just am.
i still have to see IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH (which absolutely no one else saw either), GONE BABY GONE, AMERICAN GANGSTER (please don’t make me watch 2 hours of denzel’s showboating just for 5 mins of nominee ruby dee. i have a feeling i’ve seen her whole performance after watching her SAG clip), and CHARLIE WILSON’S BORE. but i’m waiting for the DVDs on all of them. CHARLIE is the only one that doesn’t come out before the ceremony. so looks like i’ll be missing one of the performances in the category: Javier Bardem and 4 guys who have no chance in hell. sorry, Phil Hoffman.
I still have to see “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” and “La Vie En Rose”. I have seen everything else. I really have little interest in seeing these films, but I always try to see everything nominated before the awards, so I better get to it. “In the Valley of Elah” was very good and I am so glad Tommy Lee Jones was nominated for this role. I usually stay clear of anything involving him, but this film was extraordinary.
Andy,
No offense to all the Ruby Dee fans out there who are sure to jump down my throat, but if you saw her SAG clip, you pretty much HAVE seen all of her performance. That’s pretty much all there is to it. Sorry. Ruby Dee is a classy women, but I would’ve preferred to see Helene Bonham Carter (assuming she was supporting) or Jennifer Garner (or even Marcia Gay Harden…I really liked “The Mist”…don’t tell anyone) in Ruby’s spot.
Only a few left on my list: ‘In the Valley of Elah’, ‘Into the Wild’ and ‘I’m Not There’.
Please see ‘Michael Clayton’ if you haven’t already.
I forgot ‘The Savages’
I just No Country for Old Men yesterday and all I have left is There Will Be Blood and Michael Clayton, both I am ambivalent about but figure I better see.
There’s a theater in my neighborhood that lets you order food (Including the Kevin Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato sandwich, since I see you are in a Bacon mood) to eat during the movie! They’ve removed every other row of chairs and put in tables, so you’re not eating like a sports stadium, PLUS because they serve beer (and lots of it) no one under 18 is allowed without a parent! It’s greatness! With the tables no one kicks your chair and the kids are quiet because they have a mouth full of ice cream, if the parents bother to bring them at all!
I do need to see “Blood” and “Old Men”, but I’m leaning toward netflixing them.
my friends and i are mostly set on going to the AMC Best Picture marathon February 23rd. It’ll take an hour to get to the nearest AMC, but I think it’ll be worth it.
I can’t believe you just compared my favorite movie of the decade to brussel sprouts. Slezy, HOW COULD YOU????
I would liken it more to foie gras. Interesting, possibly off-putting taste that some will adore and others will detest.
I’m a huge Oscar snob so try to see everything I can but this year has been really slow for me. I’ve seen barely anything this year except No Country & Juno (which I definitely thought was overrated). Anyway, I still need to see Michael Clayton and There Will Be Blood plus the Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The Savages, I’m Not there, etc. I may not make it this year but I am sure gonna try!!
All three of our local art house cinemas always get into a rut this time of the year and only show the “front runners” for just about the whole month, so I doubt we will have the chance to see anything other than No Country, Blood, or Juno, which we already saw when they first came out. That being said, I have no desire to see Away from her ever, having lived through my grandmother’s long decline in person.
I saw MICHAEL CLAYTON last fall when it opened. The only film I felt the need to see after the nominations was NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, and I loved it. I have no interest in anything else right now. I do not even plan to watch the Oscars.
Using the 25 movies you need to see from EW, I have only seen Atonement, Juno, Into the Wild, Eastern Promises, La Vie en Rose and Ratatouille. I will try to see No country for old men and There will be blood in the theaters and get American Gangster, Away from her, and a few others on DVD in the next few weeks.
to Annie – thanks for the “Best Picture Marathon” info. That’s a great idea!
“Michael Clayton,” now that it’s been re-released in theatres. And if someone can drag me to cinematic brussel sprout “Diving Bell and the Butterfly”…
EVERYONE needs to see Transformers!! Not that you have to see it in order to decide whether or not it should win for Best Sound Editing, Mixing, and Visual Effects – because it definitely will take all three categories. If you’ve even seen the trailers you know that no other films should even be competing in these categories.
I think I have 6 left. IN the Valley of Elah, I’m Not there, Michael Clayton, The Assassination of Jesse James, American Gangster, Into the Wild.
I’m with you Slezak! I too like to see as many Oscar pics as possible before the big (or this year depressing) event. I’ve been holding off on seeing The Savages cuz I just can’t get myself behind that movie. But, I still need to catch La Vie en Rose, Away from Her, Atonement, In the Valley of Elah, Gone Baby Gone, Atonement, and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. We’ll see if I make it through all of them. If I do, it will be the first time I’ve managed it. Hmm, that feeling alone is enough to make me persevere.
I’ve seen all 5 Best Picture nominees, so my remaining “Must Sees” are: Persepolis, The Savages, I’m Not There, Diving Bell & the Butterfly and Enchanted.
I actually try to see every movie nominated – for ALL categories. I know, I know. I’m a total dork and maybe a little OCD. That is not news to me. But I absolutely love going to the movies, so I use awards season as an excuse to go. A lot. I also have a group of friends who love going to the movies so we end up going out quite a bit during this time for year. It’s also really easy for me to go see movies, as I have three theatres near where I live and work that offer a pretty decent variety of movies.
Of movies that actually were released in theatres this past year, this is all I have left to see: Persepolis; Across the Universe, Gone Baby Gone, Jesse James, Elizabeth, Once, Operation Homecoming; August Rush; Enchanted; Golden Compass.
None of the foreign films will release before the show (Is that strange? I know I was able to see a couple last year). There’s one theatre that does a special Oscar-nominated shorts night, but I usually don’t go. Slacker, right?
Slezak, please do an “I Watched It So You Don’t Have To” on “Over Her Dead Body”. This movie is begging for it.
I’ve worked very steadily on getting all my viewing done (do so every year – sometimes being more successful than others). And I’m almost there this year. MICHAEL CLAYTON, ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY…, GONE BABY GONE, EASTERN PROMISES, and PERSEPOLIS.
I’ve already seen No country, Juno and Atonement. So I’m just looking forward to see Michael Clayton and There will be blood, and maybe The diving bell and the butterfly. And to Ceballos: I also liked The mist a lot and tought that Marcia Gay Harden was awesome. She should have been nominated instead of Ruby Dee, who I think just got in because she’s old. Same for Hal Holbrook(don’t hate me but his performance did nothing for me).
I have actually seen nearly every movie nominated, with the exception of some of the documentaries and the foreigns. Last year I saw everything that was nominated (minus the shorts of course). However, I refuse to see Norbit so that will not make my list.
I’ve been trying to see as many as I can, but most do not come to theaters around me. I have to wait until they come to DVD. I am dying to see There Will Be Blood. Also need to see I’m Not There, Michael Clayton, Into The Wild, In The Valley Of Elah, American Gangster, Gone Baby Gone, The Assassination Of Jesse James, The Diving Bell And The Butterly, Persepolis, and Lars and the Real Girl. I know, it’s a lot. I won’t get to see even half of these before the Oscars. Oh, well. I’ve seen most of the Best Picture nominees. But, I will be so disappointed if I don’t get to see Daniel Day-Lewis’ performance before the ceremony.
I’m just about done watching everything on my list that was nominated LAST year!!! But then, seeing movies in theatres has become so joyless with the rudeness of other patrons, kids, poor sound & picture quality, etc. I just wait till something comes out on DVD and watch it on my big screen TV in the comfort of my bedroom. Luckily, since some flix are coming out before the ceremony nowadays, I have seen Eastern Promises, Ratatouille, Away From Her and La Vie En Rose already – and for those who think the last two are too arty or depressing – think again – both performances are extremely worthy of winning and both pictures are supurb.
I just got the Eastern Promises DVD, so I’ll be watching that this weekend, In the Valley of Elah, La Vie en Rose, Atonement and Micheal Clayton, if I can get that DVD before the Award show. I’ve seen No Country for Old Men, There will be Blood and Juno.
Well since EW never got back to me about watching the marathon for my b-day im not going have to watch any of them! Im a huge oscar fan. . .like love it but this year is so very not interesting. . .