Oscar Best Picture Nominees

The nominees for this year's Academy Awards were announced this week. In recent years I've tried to see all of the Best Picture nominees before the Oscars are given out, because I don't want to say a movie did or did not deserve its nomination or victory if I haven't seen it. Usually there are one or two I haven't seen. This year, with there being 10 Best Picture nominees instead of 5, the ratio holds: there are four I haven't seen yet. Of the others, only two made my own personal top 10: "Up in the Air," which got an A from me, and "Up" (A-minus). In order of grade, the others I've seen are "District 9" (B-plus), "Inglourious Basterds," "The Blind Side" (both B) and "Avatar" (C-plus). So I need to see "An Education," "The Hurt Locker," "Precious" and "A Serious Man."

Just guessing here, but the increase from 5 to 10 nominees definitely allowed both "District 9" and "The Blind Side" to be nominated, and possibly helped "A Serious Man," "Up," "Inglourious Basterds" and "An Education." I think the rest were slam-dunks to be nominated. I don't understand all the "Avatar" love. Visually, technically brilliant but the story is so lackluster! And the record-setting box office is inflated by the more expensive 3D and IMAX showings. The multiplex nearest me isn't even showing the 2D version any more -- that's a ripoff! Of the movies in my top 10, I really would have liked "(500) Days of Summer" to have gotten a nomination instead of "Avatar." I think it subverted the whole romantic-comedy genre so well.