Academy Award Nominations 2010 (Best Picture)

[DanielBenoit]

I was glad to see Kathryn Bigelow and Hurt Locker win. I was disappointed Tarantino did not win for Best Screenplay, and I hoped that either Meryl Streep or Gabourey Sidibe would win for Best Actress. I guess I was surprised that Jeff Bridges won, but I'm glad. He's good and long overdue. I really enjoyed him in Cutter's Way; it's old. Has anybody here ever seen that one, or read the book, Cutter and Bone, that it's based on?

Yeah, I was so happy The Hurt Locker won, but rather mad that they didn't let Tarantino have the screenplay award. They just did that to gather up awards, which is stupid.

I was quite shocked when The White Ribbon didn't win the the forgien film catagory, but other than that, there weren't any shocks. I was really rooting for Gabourey to win and was pissed that Sandra Bullock won, oh well, at least she gave a nice speech.

Also, who didn't love seeing Katherine Bigelow win as the first female best director? Her work was supreme and by far the most deserving IMHO.

[DanielBenoit]

Almost forgot to commend Jeff Bridges on his kick-*** acceptance speech. The Dude Aboded

[Drkshadow03]

Yeah, I was so happy The Hurt Locker won, but rather mad that they didn't let Tarantino have the screenplay award. They just did that to gather up awards, which is stupid.

I was quite shocked when The White Ribbon didn't win the the forgien film catagory, but other than that, there weren't any shocks. I was really rooting for Gabourey to win and was pissed that Sandra Bullock won, oh well, at least she gave a nice speech.

Also, who didn't love seeing Katherine Bigelow win as the first female best director? Her work was supreme and by far the most deserving IMHO.

My Hurt Locker Review from when I saw it awhile back:

The Hurt Locker (2009) - Slow start. Didn't like it at first. Grew on me as the story progressed. Some unique camera work as the film uses the natural light for many of the scenes, creating a sense of gritty realism. Instead of a pristine quality to the film we see the glare of the sun when the soldiers see a glare, during night scenes the screen goes black for forty seconds at a time, only lit when neon signs or other natural light sources provide light, flares soar up in the air giving troops a temporary glow of white radiance before the screen goes black again. This camera style is both unique and off-putting at first; after all, it's not exactly pleasant to have a glare flashing in your eyes. It's like watching a movie where the camera man keeps half his thumb over the lens, blocking out half the scene, After awhile, however, you get used to the style and it transforms from a distraction to an attraction. The external plot of three soldiers who are a part of a special bomb defusing squadron isn't particularly exciting by itself. Much of the film, especially at the beginning, plays out as a formless day-in-the-life of a soldier narrative capturing the tedious and dangerous nature of a war environment, but finds its true shape in the unit's internal conflict with each other. The Hurt Locker isn't anti-war, nor is it exactly pro-war, but rather it's a sophisticated story about the nature of heroism and comradery. The three main characters exist on a spectrum of heroism/courage: William James is overly brash (he's also named after the father of Pragmatism, Henry James's brother, coincidence?), J.T. Sanborn wants to just do his time and get out of Iraq alive, but can keep a cool head in a tough situation, while Owen Wilson talks to a doctor about his fears that he's going to die and fumbles about when under fire from the enemy, needing others with strong leadership qualities to keep him focused. Is James cocky or courageous? Should we celebrate his heroism or view him as a brash ******* endangering his comrades? Should his fellow soldiers hate his guts for making them risk their lives unnecessarily such as in the scene where he forces his unit to chase after terrorists when it isn't their job and Owen Wilson receives an injury for his troubles? Or does he function as a bulwark of morale support in tough situations as evidenced by a firefight sniping scene where he keeps Owen Wilson sane? As this film is up for an academy award this year, I have to say that although I liked this film, I'm not sure I think it's the best of the year.

[DanielBenoit]

Here's my take on the film (I wasn't able to write a full review when I saw it because the damn computer lost it):

The Hurt Locker - As oppose to being a moral or political film as is so tempting with an unpopular war, The Hurt Locker takes the chance to examine not high ideas, but soldiers themselves on the ground and the psychological effects of war. The Iraq War is a perfect setting as it is contemporary and relevant, but also is a war that we know so much about and have disliked so much from the start, that there's not much left to say politically. This was the same for the great Vietnam film (or should I say the great war film) Apocolaypse Now, which took not the politcal implications of the war, but the psychological and cultural feeling and enviroment of that era. The Hurt Locker doesn't exactly do that, it so much as it takes a very narrow scope on a deep psychological examination of soldiers in war, all this disguised under the excitment and intensity of a supremely directed action film.

The Hurt Locker suggests that there are two types of soldiers; one whose self is in the battlefield but whose soul (or psyche) is at home, the other are soldiers whose full being has become the battlefield. Like the compulsive sucking of a cigarette, the film's hero William James (drkshadow points out very accurately the allusion to the American pragmatist). James is not the so-called "ultimate warrior", as this is too realistic a film to have such shallow absolutes, in fact his own "heroism" is a disadvantage for him, for just as a drug addict, his compulsions make him do dangerous things (such as casually walking into the middle of a street to disfuse a bomb).

As for the other type of soldier, who are represented through the other two heros, it is evident that in contrast to James they are quite normal people. This is because they exist on something of a more amatuer level of experience in war. Not much can be said about Sanborn's inexperience, as he seems to have had a great amount of training and experience, but the young Eldridge becomes a perfect contrast to James. Eldridge explains to his psychiatrist that he is terrified of dying, and even more so, of the concept that out there it's only second between being alive, and being pulp on the ground.

This anxiety of war is the most normal thing in the world, which makes James lack of anxiety seem strange and psychotic. There is no explanation as to why he is the way he is, but it is quite evident (especially at the end) that he has been in war so long that his mindset has totally become that of the warrior. His entire being is emmersed in the rush and excitment of battle. He is virtually the archetypal Homeretic warrior. This does not make him some sort of movie bad-***, but rather as a disabled man who has lost touch with the world. For the war shall end some day and he will go home eventually. How strange, how different must it be. While diffusing bombs has become the most normal thing in the world, walking up to the check-out counter at a grocery store can be an ordeal.

In the end, Jame's psyche is the absolute opposite of the Hamletian young Eldridge. When brought to war, a young soldier is bombarded by the most gross and vile attacks on human dignity and spirit. His concept of morality is turned upside-down after a lifetime of "thou shalt not kill", until he comes to a place in which killing is a virtue. The soldiers who are able to adapt to this state of mind become James, the soldiers who can't achieve little in war, but remain normal social humans. The Hurt Locker is neither a anti or pro-war film. But it is just as much about the home as it is about bomb-diffusing. 10/10

[Mathor]

the Hurt Locker was my favorite film of the year, since way back in June, and I'm glad it's finally getting the deserved appreciation. Bigelow is a genius.

Also, though The White Ribbon losing was a shock, I felt the Argentinian foreign film that won was pretty amazing as well.

[DanielBenoit]

Does anyone feel that this was one of the most predictable ceremonies in a long time? The tension between Avatar and The Hurt Locker was the only thing that made it exciting, but once you started seeing The Hurt Locker gathering up awards, it became rather evident because the Academy loves giving the big winners the most awards. The only shock to me was the foriegn film catagory. I was about certain The White Ribbon would win. In all absolute honesty, I had never even heard of the winner.

Btw, who else though that Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin were close to unbearable? Their off-the-telepromter jokes were so lame, even for the Academy's standards.

[DanielBenoit]

Post-Note:

In the end, the results were very satisfying. The last time I can think of a box-office record breaker losing to a little independent film was in 1977 when Star Wars lost to Annie Hall

[Drkshadow03]

the Hurt Locker was my favorite film of the year, since way back in June, and I'm glad it's finally getting the deserved appreciation. Bigelow is a genius.

Also, though The White Ribbon losing was a shock, I felt the Argentinian foreign film that won was pretty amazing as well.

Honestly, out of all the best pic noms that I saw: Up in the Air, Inglorious Basterds, The Blindside, Avatar, The Hurt Locker, District 9, Up (7 of 10, not that bad), my vote for Best Pic if it had been my choice would've been Up.

I loved everything about that movie, great combination of comedy and pathos with pretty visuals and wonderful soundtrack.

But, an animated film winning best pic over those others was never going to happen. Although, it would've been amusing had Up won best picture, but lost best animated feature!

[fanaticore]

I bet Inception would win the 2010 Academy Awards for Best Picture.
Sure win.

[DanielBenoit]

I bet Inception would win the 2010 Academy Awards for Best Picture.
Sure win.

Not so sure about that. It's always impossible to predict before the months of November and December when all of the "Oscar-rate" pics come out.

[Desolation]

I bet Inception would win the 2010 Academy Awards for Best Picture.
Sure win.

Inception definitely deserves it, but it's likely that it will be snubbed for the mere fact that it was released in July instead of December.

[ivan.cagle89D]

In that picture, where you said here is a real EOD uniform.. and says it is the same as the ones in the hurtlocker, well i haven't seen the hurtlocker lately, but i'm sure there is one thing differant somewhere, anyways, the reason i even made an account on here is to tell you that that EOD guy isn't wear his EOD Badge, which is one of the biggest identifiers that we are EOD... other than, the huge letters on our shoulder.... but just thought i'd throw that one in there.